MHA team studying ENPO’s statehood demand meets Nagaland Chief Minister

Kohima, Dec. 19 (PTI): An MHA team studying the statehood demand in eastern Nagaland met state Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and senior bureaucrats on Monday to know the government’s views on the matter, officials said.

The three-member fact-finding team headed by MHA (Northeast) advisor A K Mishra discussed the separate statehood demand by Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) and sought information on the nature and amount of funds provided besides the infrastructure developments in the area, the officials said.

Later Rio told newsmen “It all depends on the home ministry and we hope some decision will be taken”.

State additional chief secretary Sentiyanger Imchen, one of those who the MHA team met and discussed, told PTI that it is “in a hurry” to submit its report so that the Centre can arrive at a decision before the state election, which is due early next year.

The ENPO, an apex body of seven Naga tribes, is demanding a separate state Frontier Nagaland since 2010. It even boycotted the recent Hornbill festival, held between December 1 and 10, to press for the demand.

It holds sway are Mon, Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire, Noklak and Shamator districts.

The visiting MHA team held closed door meeting at Tuensang with ENPO, leaders of seven tribal hohos (organisations), Eastern Nagaland Women’s Organisation, Eastern Nagaland Students Federation, gaon burahs (village chieftains) and deputy commissioners and SPs of the six districts in the region.

Rio said that ENPO had submitted its demand in 2010 and the state government had set up a chief minister’s fact finding committee, whose report and findings was submitted to the Centre the following year.

Imchen said the MHA team has called for another round of meeting with the ENPO and state government officials on December 23 in Delhi, he added.

The visiting team also comprised of Intelligence Bureau joint director Mandeep Singh Tull and ministry of home affairs northeast division director A K Dhayani. It also met the developmental departmental heads including those of the department of underdeveloped areas, rural development, public health engineering, school education among others, Imchen said.

A central executive council meeting of ENPO was held in Tuensang during the day. However, efforts to know the outcome of the meeting drew a blank.