A deep-rooted syndrome

For decades, the highways of Nagaland have served as more than just arteries of commerce; they have been the hunting grounds for an entrenched culture of extortion. The recent directive from the Nagaland Municipal Affairs Department-ordering Municipal and Town Councils to immediately cease the collection of unauthorized tolls and urban utility fees-is a necessary, if familiar, intervention. By invoking Section 81 of the Nagaland Municipal Act 2023, the government has set a hard deadline of March 6, 2026, for the dismantling of all illegal structures. However, as history suggests, issuing an order is merely the first step in a much steeper climb toward genuine governance. The current crackdown targets a specific brand of defiance. Despite repeated notifications dating back to 2021 and 2022, bodies like the Dimapur Municipal Council and East Dimapur Town Council have allegedly continued to levy fees on goods already covered under the GST regime. This “double-dipping” not only flouts fiscal law but places an unsustainable burden on the consumer. The Deputy Commissioner of Dimapur’s parallel instruction to shutter these unauthorized gates underscores a systemic failure: when the very institutions tasked with urban management become the primary violators of state policy, the rule of law becomes a mere suggestion. To understand the gravity of this “disease,” one must look at its roots. This is not a new phenomenon; the struggle to clear Nagaland’s roads of illegal tax collectors has been ongoing since the 1980s. For years, a “syndrome of extraction” has thrived, fueled by a plethora of unions, associations, and over thirty Naga political groups (NPGs). These entities have long preyed upon the public to fund the lifestyles of office bearers and the machinery of vested interests. The timeline of government “bans” is a testament to the stubbornness of this issue. From the notifications of 2009 and 2012 to the landmark 2014 Gauhati High Court judgment and the public rallies led by ACAUT in 2013, the mandate has always been clear- illegal collection must end. Yet, the 2015 report by a High Power Committee remains shrouded in secrecy, and the efforts of groups like the Public Action Committee (PAC) in 2019 were met with a government that seemed either unable or unwilling to act decisively.The crux of the problem lies in the intersection of weak administrative will and the complexities of the Naga political landscape. For too long, illegal collections have been shielded by political rhetoric or justified as “national” necessity. This has created a vacuum where district administrations, often under immense pressure from influential Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and political figures, have blinked in the face of blatant illegality. The deadline of March 6 must be more than a bureaucratic footnote. If the state is to restore its credibility, it must move beyond the “job half done” of issuing notifications. Eradicating this deeply rooted malaise requires a two-pronged approach- unwavering enforcement by the police and district administration, and a sincere push toward resolving the broader Naga political issue that often serves as a cloak for these activities. Without a complete dismantling of the patronage networks that benefit from these gates, the roads of Nagaland will remain stalled by the high price of systemic corruption.