Nagaland: DDCF calls for lifting NLTP Act in Dimapur district

Dimapur District Citizens’ Forum (DDCF), representing both Naga and non-Naga communities in Dimapur district, Monday called for lifting the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act, 1989, in Dimapur district.
DDCF through its media cell maintained that the NLTP Act, after 36 years of enforcement, has failed to achieve its objectives.
The forum also stated that the Act, instead of eradicating alcohol consumption, has driven the trade underground, fostering an unregulated black market controlled by powerful syndicates and mafias that thrived on corruption and endanger public safety.
DDCF stated that Dimapur, being the commercial and economic hub of Nagaland, bears the “maximum brunt of this failed policy.”
It pointed out that illegal liquor was openly available, quality and safety were compromised, law and order challenges have increased, and the burden of enforcement has unfairly fallen on local communities and colony leaders who neither have the authority nor the resources to control an underground economy.
DDCF expressed its belief that regulation was more effective than prohibition.
The forum argued that lifting the NLTP Act in Dimapur district would enable the government to introduce a transparent, regulated system that ensures quality control, curbs criminal activities, generates legitimate revenue, and strengthens law enforcement.
It asserted that such revenue could be utilized for public welfare, healthcare, education, youth development, and de-addiction and awareness programmes.
The forum clarified that supporting the lifting of prohibition did not mean encouraging alcoholism or social evils.
On the contrary, DDCF said regulation allows for responsible consumption, strict age restrictions, controlled sale, and stronger penalties for violations—measures that were impossible under the current failed prohibition regime.
In the spirit of unity among Naga tribes and non-Naga communities, DDCF has appealed to the state government to heed ground realities and take a pragmatic, people-centric decision by lifting the NLTP Act in Dimapur district.
DDCF affirmed its commitment to working with the government, civil society organisations, churches, and all stakeholders to ensure that any transition towards regulation was responsible, socially sensitive, and in the best interest of our future generations.