Kohima: The Nagaland Home Department on Saturday said that the state govt had communicated its comments on the draft memorandum of settlement (MoS)-III for the proposed Frontier Nagaland Territory (FNT)/Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) to the Union Home Ministry.
The department, in a release, said: “The letter was forwarded to the secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, vide letter no. CON-1/G/1/2011(Vol-I) dated Kohima, the 6th November 2024.”
It added that point-wise comments had been communicated on the proposed Frontier Nagaland Territory/Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority, comprising six districts of Mon, Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire, Noklak and Shamator in eastern Nagaland, after it was approved by the state cabinet during a meeting on October 30.
After the cabinet meeting, Nagaland power and parliamentary affairs minister and government spokesperson KG Kenye said the state cabinet discussed the long-pending demands of the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) for FNT.
He further said that the meeting deliberated on addressing the concerns of ENPO, adding that it reflected the govt’s commitment to advancing the process, particularly the ENPO’s interests, while respecting the traditional and legal framework of Nagaland, under Article 371 (A) of the Constitution of India.
On September 22, the ENPO reminded Nagaland govt to give its comments on the highlights of the draft MoS on FNT.
According to reports, the ministry of home affairs had handed over the highlights of the draft MoS for FNT to the state govt last December and the latter was supposed to give its comments before December 31, 2023.
The MHA said the state government’s comments were needed to make way for the tripartite talks among Centre, state govt and ENPO at the earliest.
ENPO has been demanding a separate FNT, carved out of Nagaland since 2010, citing lack of development and negligence towards eastern Nagaland.
The tribes of eastern Nagaland, under the aegis of ENPO, boycotted the Lok Sabha and the state urban local body polls, earlier in the year to press for its demand.
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According to reports, the fact-finding committee of the MHA will scrutinize the feedback before convening the tripartite talks between the state government, ENPO and the government of India.
