The State Cabinet during its meeting held on September 11, made several key decisions regarding the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system and the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN).
Inner Line Permit: The Cabinet approved the recommendations from the Cabinet Sub-Committee Report concerning the implementation of the ILP in Dimapur (erstwhile). The Home department has been directed to implement these recommendations promptly.
Further , the Cabinet has called for a revision of ILP fees and validity periods for various applicant categories. It may be recalled that the in response to demand to include Dimapur district to be brought under the ambit of ILP, the state cabinet on February 15,2019 approved the proposal.
This meant that the ILP (the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act 1873) was effected through a notification dated December 11, 2019. The state government also decided the cut-off date as November 21,1979 to determine who is and who is not an indigenous inhabitant of Nagaland since it was on that date and year that erstwhile Dimapur sub-division was made a tribal area under the state.
The demand for ILP was supposedly to tackle the influx into Dimapur and other foothill areas of Nagaland by Illegal Bangladeshi Immigrants (IBIs). In almost all cases, suspected IBIs have documents as proof of Indian citizenship provided by officials from either Assam or West Bengal.
Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland : The Cabinet also approved a draft notification detailing eligibility criteria of being an Indigenous Inhabitant of Nagaland and issuance of Indigenous Inhabitant Certificate (IIC).
The Home department has been instructed to begin enumerating Kachari, Kuki, Garo, Mikir (Karbi) settled in the state before December 1, 1963, to determine their eligibility for IIC/PRC, including Nepalis/Gorkhas.
As per the draft notification, the Home department has been asked to include representatives from the Church in the Village Verification Committee.
As reported, Tourism and Higher Education minister Temjen Imna Along, who is also the spokesperson for the state government, on September 11 announced that ILP would be implemented in Chümoukedima, Niuland, and Dimapur districts.
Addressing the media at the Secretariat after the cabinet meeting, Along disclosed that the residents in Dimapur would be clubbed under three categories, wherein no Inner Line Permit would be required for the first two categories.
He said Category I would comprise of individuals who had settled in Dimapur prior to December 1, 1963, while Category II would include individuals who settled in Dimapur between December 1, 1963 and November 21, 1979.
He mentioned that the state government would work towards providing individuals under Category I with smart card facility with the option to avail Permanent Residence Certificate and Domicile Certificate. Similarly, residents under Category II would be provided Permanent Residence Certificate with the option to avail Domicile Certificate.
The minister stated that individuals who settled in Dimapur on and after November 22, 1979 would be grouped under Category III. Imna Along reiterated the state government’s commitment to strengthen the digital system for issuance of Inner Line Permit, assuring that certain categories of people such as students, teachers, technical personnel, business partners investing in the state, etc, would be provided ILP for a longer duration —up to two to five years at a time.
CNTC opposes 2 cut-off dates for ILP
Central Nagaland Tribes Council (CNTC) has strongly opposed the two cut-off dates for Inner Line Permit (ILP). Expressing concern over reports of the cabinet decision to extend ILP to Dimapur, Chümoukedima, and Niuland with two cut-off dates, the council in a statement pointed out that this would only confuse and make the matter more complicated. Instead, it strongly suggested December 1, 1963 as the cut-off date.
The CNTC insisted that those persons exempted from ILP in plain areas because of their settlement in Nagaland prior to 1963 must take ILP to visit hill areas of the state.
Further, stating that it was also appalled to see the inaction and shelving of Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) Commission report by the state government, the council demanded that the government must make its decision public if it had accepted or rejected the report. The council stressed that the time had come for all Naga tribes concerned to defend indigenous heritage and identity to save their race as a people from exploitation and extinction.