Kohima, July 29 The Nagaland cabinet in its meeting on Wednesday deliberated on the Centre’s proposal to resolve pending issues related to the demand for creation of Frontier Nagaland Territory, Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton said on Tuesday.
Since 2010, the Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organisation (ENPO) has been agitating for a separate 'Frontier Nagaland Territory' or separate state comprising six eastern Nagaland districts -- Kiphire, Longleng, Mon, Noklak, Shamator, and Tuensang, inhabited by seven backwards tribes.
The Nagaland government took the decision to discuss the Frontier Nagaland Territory issue in the cabinet after the third tripartite meeting held on July 23 in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Nagaland government, and leaders of the ENPO.
Patton, who holds the Home and Border Affairs portfolios, said that the cabinet meeting to be chaired by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio would discuss the matter.
“We shall also discuss with the ENPO leaders on Wednesday on the issue,” Patton, also a senior BJP leader, told the media on the sidelines of an official event.
According to an official, in the New Delhi meeting, a couple of contentious issues were reportedly resolved, barring a few pending ones from the Nagaland government side. The Union government has requested the state government to resolve the pending issues at the earliest.
The ENPO has been organising various agitations for the past 15 years demanding a separate 'Frontier Nagaland Territory' or separate state comprising six eastern Nagaland districts -- Kiphire, Longleng, Mon, Noklak, Shamator, and Tuensang, inhabited by seven backwards tribes -- Chang, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Phom, Tikhir, Sangtam and Yimkhiung.
The state government also submitted their comments on the third draft of the Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) in respect of the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority to the MHA in November last year.
Several rounds of discussions have already been held on the issue, in New Delhi and in Nagaland, and substantial progress has been made, and the government is hopeful that any remaining concerns of the ENPO will be addressed, the government official pointed out.
The ENPO had boycotted several important elections, including the 2023 Assembly polls, to press for their demands.
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