In talks over demand for Frontier Nagaland, Centre considers funding model with no role for state

New Delhi: The Centre is considering a mechanism to route funds to the proposed Frontier Nagaland Territory (FNT) — a separate administrative unit for six districts in eastern Nagaland — through the state governor, leaving no role for the state government in its disbursal, according to people involved in negotiations with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

This is among the proposals on the table of the Centre, the Nagaland government and the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), which are involved in talks to resolve issues, including election boycotts, arising out of the demand to carve out a separate unit for the six eastern Nagaland districts.

ThePrint has learnt that the home ministry’s draft proposal on the FNT to the Nagaland government includes a clause on the proposed financial model as the Centre did not want to leave any room for disputes over disbursal of funds — which is a bone of contention in the case of most autonomous councils created under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

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There are 10 such councils in the Northeast spread across Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. Nagaland does not have areas under the Sixth Schedule as it is covered by Article 371A, a special provision in the Constitution that shields Naga religious and social practices, customary laws, and ownership and transfer of land from laws enacted by Parliament.

“During the talks, the MHA underlined that the proposed model of the FNT will be a unique arrangement because in the case of Sixth Schedule councils, funds are often held back by the states. So, it was proposed that the funds for the FNT be sent to the governor, who will transfer them to the FNT administration within a week. The idea is to have the model in place for 10 years before taking it up for review, if needed,” a senior Nagaland politician involved in the talks said.

While the draft proposal for the FNT has not been made public, it has already become a flashpoint in Nagaland, with the ENPO accusing the state government of holding back the draft it received from the home ministry, instead of sharing its comments as desired by the Centre.

R. Tsapikiu Sangtam, who served as the president of ENPO till last month, told ThePrint that the home ministry had shared “highlights of the draft proposal” with the state government. But the ENPO has not received it officially from either the Centre or the state, he said.

A. Chingmak Chang, who is the new ENPO president, could not be reached for a comment.

Due to the deadlock over the proposed FNT, the ENPO had called for a boycott of the April-May Lok Sabha elections. Consequently, people in the six eastern Nagaland districts had refrained from voting.

Later, in June, the ENPO also called for a boycott of the urban local body polls in Nagaland, and there were no candidates in the fray for the 14 town councils under the six districts.

The six eastern Nagaland districts — Mon, Longleng, Tuensang, Noklak, Shamator and Kiphire — lag behind in most socio-economic parameters, leading to demands that a separate territory be carved out comprising these areas. The ENPO has been leading the movement since 2010.

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Govt’s assurance

ENPO sources said the Centre has assured the organisation that it will receive a draft of the proposed FNT after the state government submits its comments.

The sources added that the Centre had ruled out any division of Nagaland or the creation of any Union territory to accommodate the demand for a separate administration for the eastern districts.

Union home minister Amit Shah, ahead of the Nagaland assembly polls in 2023, had assured the ENPO that an agreement would be signed after the results, following which the organisation had withdrawn its boycott of the elections.

“It is heartening that in an expression of trust in the Modi government, the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) in Nagaland has withdrawn its call to boycott the assembly elections. The decision will help in keeping the ongoing process of peace and development unhindered,” Shah had stated on social media on 4 February, 2023.

The proposal to route funds directly to the proposed FNT is significant as the tribal autonomous councils in the region have been putting pressure on the Centre for the passage of the Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill that was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 6 February, 2019.

The bill seeks to bring significant amendments to the administrative and financial structure of the autonomous councils governed by Articles 244(2) and 275(1) of the Constitution.

The councils, including the ones governed by the BJP and its allies, also formed a joint forum to push the Centre to get the bill passed during the Budget Session of Parliament this year.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)

Also Read: BJP’s allies in Northeast to push for 6th Schedule amendment to empower tribal autonomous councils

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