Not easy to serve as civil servants in Nagaland — Rio

Our Correspondent
Kohima, March 5 (EMN): Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Thursday acknowledged the hardships faced by Nagaland Civil Service (NCS) officers, who—more often than not—are ‘sandwiched between’ the government of India and the various Naga armed groups.

Speaking at the 45th general conference of Nagaland Civil Service Association (NCSA) in Kohima, Rio lauded the ‘efforts and sacrifices of NCS officers who face untold challenges in all kinds of situations'.

The chief minister said that ‘it is not easy to serve when Nagaland is going through a hard time because of its political issue’; and the state is composed of various tribes and sub-tribes with distinct social and economic issues.

Rio observed that administration officials in Nagaland face difficulty as the ‘government of India cannot fully trust the state government, and on the other hand, Naga nationalist groups think the government is siding with New Delhi and do not do justice to Naga people’.

He encouraged the officers to cherish both the 'good and bad times'; and share their experiences with each other during the conference.

Rio urged the officers ‘to uphold their identity while taking the challenges positively, remaining consistent in performing their duties and responsibilities to the people and leave a footprint wherever they are posted at, so that people remember their good deeds’.

He also acknowledged the ‘wisdom of the political leaders of yesteryears’ who were instrumental in introducing Inner Line Permit (ILP) under Bengal Frontier Regulation in Nagaland. Even other Northeast states have started introducing it of late, he added.

Rio also stressed on the need to identify indigenous inhabitants of the state and asked the administration to coordinate with village councils, colony or ward authorities.

Rio said: "Administration is an art to solve problems and to keep the society in harmony; and control law and order."

The chief minister further asked the NCS officials to help the local economy by coordinating with the ‘development department wherever they are posted at’; and ensure proper utilisation of development funds.

The president of NCSA, W Honje Konyak, informed that there were currently 279 NCS officers posted across Nagaland.

According to him, there is a great disparity in the size of the administrative circles as some circles have jurisdiction over just couple of villages, while some have over 50 villages.

He also explained that some administrative circles do not even have a police outpost because the criteria for the creation of police establishments are more stringent than that of administrative circles.

"We have completed 57 years of statehood, perhaps a review of the administration establishments is needed to ensure parity of governance and work distribution," he said.

Konyak also expressed concern that none of the ‘senior-most NCS officers’ have been allotted a government quarter during their postings at the Secretariat though some have completed more than 30 years of service.