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Temjen Toy[/caption]
PTI/Eastern Mirror Desk
Kohima, Aug. 12 (PTI): Nagaland Chief Secretary Temjen Toy on Monday said the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) will strengthen the implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state, especially in Dimapur district.
The state government found it necessary to conduct the exercise to identify the indigenous inhabitants of the state and therefore notified creation of RIIN, Toy told reporters here.
Extension of ILP has also been the demand of several Naga tribal organisations and student bodies taking into consideration the influx of illegal immigrants, he said.
The chief secretary said that it has been found that a robust IT enabled ILP system is required to be put in place to check such influx which threatens the very existence of the indigenous inhabitants.
Expressing that ILP should have been put into force in Dimapur after the 1979 order declaring it as a tribal belt, Toy, however, said the present government accepting the submissions of the tribal bodies and civil societies has decided to extend ILP to Dimapur.
He said that creation of RIIN before implementation of ILP is a must. Toy said that following the demand of the Naga tribal bodies and civil society organisations asking for formulation of proper modalities for RIIN, the government has constituted RIIN commission headed by Banuo Z Jamir.
He said that the RIIN is an ongoing process and it has not been put on hold, except for enumeration process, which will commence only after consensus is achieved on Banuo Z Jamir Commission recommendations, which will be submitted next month.
RIIN will be a one-time exercise but there will be continuity in the entry as the family members of those entered in this exercise will be added as and when needed, he said.
He also asserted that rights and properties including land of non-Naga inhabitants of Nagaland before statehood, December 1, 1963 and those before declaration of then Dimapur sub-division under Kohima as a 'tribal belt' in 1979 will have to be protected.
He affirmed that RIIN will first identity the Naga indigenous inhabitants of the state and than other non-Nagas who have settled in Dimapur before 1979 and those settled in other parts of the state before December 1, 1963, the year of Nagaland statehood.
The non-Nagas cannot be taken as indigenous inhabitants but they will have to be considered as domicile or permanent residents of the state as they have been in the state for such long durations.
Differentiating all this people will help enforce Inner Line Permit (ILP) for different categories of people while the authorities will be able to introduce IT-enabled ILP to have proper records and datas of ILP holders entry and exit into the state, Toy said.
The chief secretary said that the Banuo Z Jamir commission on RIIN will also recommend the cut of dates, thereafter it will taken for deliberation with the general public.
RIIN will be implemented only after all the stakeholders arrive at a consensus through proper discussions, the chief secretary asserted.
Principal Secretary, Home, Abhijit Sinha, who was present during the interaction with reporters affirmed RIIN will not affect nor discriminate any genuine citizen. It will not harass those applying for ILP, Sinha said.
According to All India Radio (AIR) Kohima, Chief Secretary Temjen Toy said that RIIN, once conducted, will differentiate the actual indigenous inhabitants, non-Naga domicile residents and those requiring Inner Line Permit, ILP.
“He said that non-Naga citizens who are settled in the state before 1963 and also domiciles of Dimapur, who settled before declaring the then Dimapur sub-division under Kohima district as tribal belt in 1979 will not be affected during the exercise,” reported AIR Kohima.
As per documents available with , the government of Nagaland had declared the then Dimapur sub-division as a tribal belt on November 21, 1979.
It stated that ‘sufficient waste land’ was available in the area, making it necessary to constitute tribal belt or compact area.
Further, it mentioned that the ‘classes of people’ residing in the area declared as tribal belt were predominantly: any Naga, Kuki, Kachari, Garo, and Mikirs. It also contained the demarcations of the tribal belt under the then Dimapur subdivision.