Urges govt to act on 22-point reform plan
DIMAPUR, OCT 1 (NPN): Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has urged the Nagaland government to enact a law constituting an autonomous Nagaland Inner Line Regulation Commission with full powers to administer and enforce the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), 1873, and immediately notify the multi-departmental enforcement directorate approved by the State Cabinet in May 2025.
In a detailed representation to chief minister, signed by NSF Inner Line Regulation Commission chairman Senchumo NSN Lotha and member secretary Seve R. Vadeo and countersigned by NSF president Mteisuding, the federation said the recommendations followed its two-day National Seminar on the BEFR and Inner Line Pass (ILP) system at Town Hall, Dimapur, on August 28 and 29.
NSF said the representation was based on the seminar proceedings, 67 RTI documents comprising 1,490 pages obtained from the Home Department and all 17 district administrations, government committee reports of 2007, 2015, 2017 and 2018, the May 14, 2025 Cabinet decision, the Gauhati High Court judgment of June 16, 2026, and its engagement with successive governments since 1979.
The federation said the High Court had settled the legal question surrounding the extension of the ILP by dismissing three PILs challenging its extension to Dimapur, Chümoukedima and Niuland. It said the court held that the BEFR continued under Article 372, the September 20, 2024 notification did not create the ILP system, and the ILP was a regulatory mechanism constituting a reasonable restriction under Article 19(5).
NSF said the focus should now be on administration and enforcement.
It reiterated that its demand was not for exclusion and that citizens with valid documents should not be denied an ILP. Based on the RTI records, NSF alleged that the BEFR was being used mainly for issuing passes and collecting fees, while Sections 5, 6 and 7, dealing with confiscation, arrest and land-related restrictions, remained largely unused. Section 4, empowering the State to prescribe enforceable conditions in passes, was also only partly used.
NSF cited a June 9, 2025 Zunheboto drive in which 78 persons were detected without valid passes, but no fines, deportations or pending cases were recorded in the same report. Chümoukedima reported 146 defaulters but said undertakings were taken instead of fines.
Police checks on April 10 and 11, 2026 detected 644 defaulters among more than 1,900 passes checked, but NSF said it found no record of their subsequent disposal. It cited fines of Rs.15,500 in Phek, Rs.12,300 in Tseminyu and Rs.5,000 in Meluri, besides 85 persons fined in Mokokchung in 2025.
NSF said Tuensang, Tseminyu, Meluri and Phek reported no designated check gates, Chümoukedima returned nil and Zunheboto reported 15. It also said the Home Department had not provided a comprehensive State-wide list of check gates, jurisdiction and manpower. Existing 17-column enforcement returns were often incomplete; Phek, for instance, submitted 72 monthly returns over 48 months but left enforcement columns blank.
The federation said Dimapur, Kohima, Niuland, Wokha, Mon, Longleng, Shamator, Kiphire and Peren furnished no information in response to its RTI applications, although Home Department records contained enforcement reports from some of these districts, including 144 defaulters detected in a Niuland drive in January 2025 and 110 persons checked in Kohima in May.
NSF identified the absence of an exit mechanism as a major gap, saying the system records issuance but not departure. Across the records obtained, it found only one removal—a July 2025 Tuensang case involving two persons from Assam apprehended while transporting live cattle without passes.
On revenue, NSF said Chümoukedima collected Rs.49,950 from 193 offline permits, while fees from 16,249 online permits issued between August 2025 and June 2026 were credited to the Commissioner’s account. It said the State-wide revenue table was illegible and called for reconciliation and publication of revenue. It also cited discrepancies in district-wise permit, fine and revenue figures.
The federation said seven Chümoukedima registers contained 8,149 permit records. It said 82.8% were issued to persons from Assam, labourers accounted for 4,643 permits or 57%, followed by traders with 2,052 and students with 924. Of the total, 8,132 were issued in 2025, including 6,156 in June and July.
NSF said earlier government committees had repeatedly recommended stronger enforcement. The 2015 Sentiyanger committee recommended district cells, penalties, recovery of deportation costs from guarantors and extension of ILP to the whole of Dimapur. The 2017 Kesonyu Yhome committee recommended digitalisation, airport and railway counters, police antecedent verification, guarantor limits and a detention facility. The 2018 Abhishek Singh committee recommended an IT-based system, electronic authentication, automated check gates, monitoring committees and linkage of trade licences with ILP validity.
It said the Cabinet on May 14, 2025 approved a multi-departmental enforcement directorate, computerised expiry tracking and centralised alerts, but 16 months later the federation had not found a notification constituting the directorate, its head, sanctioned strength or budget head.
The NSF’s 22 recommendations include legislation creating an autonomous ILP Commission; notification of the Cabinet-approved enforcement directorate within 90 days; a central real-time register recording entry and exit; annual returns to the Assembly; completion of existing enforcement proformas; publication and reconciliation of ILP revenue; restoration and manning of check gates; ILP counters at Dimapur airport and railway station; Section 6 authorisations for police action; clarification of the competent Magistracy; ending undertakings in lieu of penalties; a Dimapur holding facility and recovery of removal costs; amendment of Sections 3 and 4 to enhance penalties; linkage of trade licences and tenant records with ILP data; enforcement of Section 7 land restrictions; investigation of alleged benami businesses; stronger guarantor accountability; official use of “Inner Line Pass”; quarterly publication of ILP data; district ILP cells and officer sensitisation; and joint verification by authorised community/student representatives under district administration.
The federation said the proposed Commission should include representatives from the Home, Police, Land Revenue and municipal administration, besides members from apex tribal bodies and recognised student organisations.
NSF clarified that it was not seeking closure of Nagaland, restrictions based on origin, language, religion or community, or inconvenience to students, patients, transit passengers and genuine traders. It also said it was not seeking a role in administering the system, but wanted the State to discharge its responsibilities.
The federation has sought a written response within 30 days, specifying the status of each of the 22 recommendations and, where accepted, the implementing instrument and timeline. It also sought a joint review meeting with the Home Department and Commissioner.