Dimapur, August 29 — Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said Nagaland “cannot live in isolation” and urged a balanced, enforceable implementation of the Inner Line regime (ILP) that protects indigenous Naga communities while allowing outside investment to boost the state’s economy. Rio made the remarks on the second day of a national seminar on the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), 1873, organised by the Inner Line Regulation Commission–Naga Students’ Federation (ILRC-NSF) in Dimapur. He warned against misuse of the state’s special constitutional protections, singling out “benami” businesses run by non-indigenous persons in collusion with Nagas as facilitating tax evasion and harming the local economy.
Rio cited the Guwahati High Court’s June 16, 2026 ruling upholding the extension of the ILP to Dimapur, Chümoukedima and Niuland as a legal vindication that reinforces Article 371(A) and safeguards Naga identity and customary practices. “We have to bring a system of using this BEFR 1873, a system which will protect the Indian citizens, also protect the indigenous Nagas, and mutual interest for development,” he said, underlining the need for clear administrative mechanisms to implement the regulation fairly.
On border concerns, Rio opposed proposals to fence the Indo–Myanmar boundary, calling such measures impractical for Naga communities bisected by the line. He pointed to Longwa in Mon district, where the traditional chief’s house straddles India and Myanmar, and warned, “If it is fenced, it is not possible to survive,” noting families and farms are scattered across both sides.
Rio also addressed the long-contested petroleum issue, urging tribal bodies to permit extraction of reserves. He reminded listeners that petroleum activity on the Nagaland side has been stalled since 1994 amid unresolved Indo–Naga political talks, while Assam continues unilateral extraction along the shared oil-rich belt and in the DAB. He referenced the June 11, 2026 “Tripartite” Memorandum of Understanding between Nagaland, Assam and the central government to jointly conduct operations and split revenue 50-50, but acknowledged local opposition from tribal hohos and Naga political groups has stalled exploration. Rio revived his earlier “equi-closeness” approach as a framework to bring all stakeholders, “overground and underground,” to the negotiating table on an even footing.
The ILRC-NSF submitted a representation urging administrative reform rather than legal change, arguing enforcement-not the law-is the main obstacle. It called for a statute to create an autonomous Nagaland Inner Line Regulation Commission with full powers to enforce the 1873 BEFR, noting current enforcement is fragmented across the Home Department, district administrations, police, municipal bodies and trade licensing authorities. The ILRC-NSF warned that the absence of a central authority has forced student and civil society organisations to shoulder enforcement and left room for unscrupulous actors to harass non-indigenous residents under the guise of ILP vigilance.
Original Source: https://www.morungexpress.com/nagaland-cannot-exist-in-isolation-neiphiu-rio
Category: Nagaland
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Publish Date: 2026-08-29 23:00:00
