Rio holds consultation on ILP with non-Naga communities

Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio held a consultative meeting with non-Naga communities of Dimapur on May 25 and deliberated on the issue of implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Dimapur.
According to sources, the meeting was held at Niathu resort and attended by deputy chief ministers– TR Zeliang and Y. Patton and advisor school education & SCERT Kekhrie Yhome. The non-Naga community included– Jain Samaj,Oswal Samaj, Maheswari Samaj, Brahmin Samaj, Agarwal Samaj, Bengali Samaj,Bhojpuri Samaj, Muslim Council, Sikh Samaj, Hindu Sewa Samiti, Dimapur Gorkha and Hindu Community Chümoukedima.
Highlighting their concern regarding implementation of ILP, the representatives of the non-Naga communities appealed for exemption of ILP in Dimapur. They pointed out that though most of them had settled in Nagaland before and after statehood, many would have issues to prove their claims due to non-availability of proper documents.
In this regard, the members suggested to the government to put in place a different mechanism to keep check on illegal immigrants instead of ILP. They further pointed out that implementing ILP in Dimapur would not only affect businessmen but also tourists or travellers, and as a result adversely impact the economy.
After patiently hearing the views shared by representatives of the non-Naga communities, sources privy to the meeting said that chief minister Neiphiu Rio had reportedly informed them that ILP would be implemented over entire Nagaland including Dimapur which was brought under the tribal belt in 1979.
Though ILP was not implemented in Dimapur due to various reasons, the state government in 2019 extended the ILP to Dimapur following pressure from various civil society groups in view of the rising cases of illegal immigrants in Nagaland.
Taking note of the concerns raised by the non-Naga communities, Rio said that community verification committee would be formed by each community to verify and identify their people residing in Dimapur and accordingly prepare the data.
Based on the verified data, he said that relevant documents would be issued. He, however, categorically stated that indigenous inhabitant status would not be accorded, but permanent resident status would be accorded to those who had settled in Nagaland prior to 1963. For those who have settled in Nagaland after 1963, they would be given temporary resident status.
Further, with regard to businessmen/traders and other categories appropriate documents/IDs would be issued. For people in transit and shoppers who enter and leave Dimapur the same day, they would be exempted from applying for ILP.
The chief minister further told the members present that possessing such documents would rather be beneficial as this would avoid any kind of harassment from unwanted elements who would try to exploit the situation.
It was made known that the implementation of ILP and Register of Indigenous Inhabitant of Nagaland was to create a data base to identify the indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland.
Sources said that the leaders of the non-Naga community sought more time to hold consultations with their community members. In this regard, it was learnt that the chief minister gave them three-month time to hold consultation and to revert back to the government.