CABINET TO TAKE A CALL ON RIIN, NLTP ETC
The state government is currently mulling over decisions to be made with regard to crucial issues that have been on its anvil and some of which have been kept pending for several years.
This was disclosed by Nagaland chief secretary Jane Alam IAS in an exclusive interview to Nagaland Post at his office Tuesday.
Alam said the state government has taken a conscious decision to address issues such as the long pending Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN), illegal and rampant taxation, encroachments on railway and airport lands at Dimapur, inordinate delay in completion of the 4-lane highway, the highly debated prohibition act (NLTP) and Nagaland’s first medical college– Nagaland Institute of Medical Sciences and Research to the level of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
RIIN: With regard to the contentious issue of RIIN Alam said it was meant to secure the interests of Nagas of Nagaland and the government was taking a holistic approach so that misapprehensions were addressed. With regard to Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) and Temporary Resident Certificate (TRC), Alam said both were inter-connected and the government proposes to come up with fresh guidelines.
In this regard, directives have been sent to all DCs and that the new format will be circulated only after getting the feedback.
He disclosed that, the government is streamlining the issuance of Indigenous Inhabitant Certificate (IIC) and would come up with new format and new guidelines to prepare a database and make the entire process transparent.
Taxation: On the public outrage over illegal and multiple taxation by all and sundry, the chief secretary said the menace continues in some measure, despite the government having issued clear directives to DCs/CP/ SPs to crack the whip against organised syndicates, illegal taxations and anti-social elements. The chief secretary said the government was seized of the matter and had undertaken various measures to combat these menaces. He said police has been asked to be proactive and to deploy mobile squads but at the same time, stressed on the need for active cooperation from the public to report on such crimes. In view of occurrences of the crimes, the chief secretary said road checks and highway patrolling will be strengthened.
To a query, he admitted that poor quality CCTVs installed at strategic locations had not achieved the purpose of crime detection but assured it would be taken up with the home department.
When it was pointed out that despite dismantling of all kinds of check gates except interstate managed by police, prices of commodities have not come down; the chief secretary assured to take up the matter with the various chamber of commerce and industries. He appealed to business firms and traders to pass benefits of price reduction to the customers if there was any reduction in transportation costs.
Airport/Railway: To the series of reports during the past decades in Nagaland Post with regard to stagnation of development at the airport and railway at Dimapur, the chief secretary reiterated that the Central government was fully committed towards the expansion and development of both airport and railway station.
The chief secretary also disclosed that data on encroachment on railway land has been exchanged between district administration of Dimapur and Northeast Frontier Railway(NFR) and that DC Dimapur had advised the NFR to invoke provisions of Public Premises (Eviction of unauthorised Occupants) Act.
Alam said the problem remained deadlocked for decades owing to lack of coordination between the district administration and NFR in preparation of the data.
He said after both parties completed the process, eviction will begin and for which the state government has assured NFR of providing all necessary assistance.
On the problem of shrinkage of land belonging to Airport Authority of India at Dimapur, the chief secretary said the ongoing court case involving issuance of unauthorised land pattas to encroachers was at final stage.
He expressed the hope that the court judgment would be favourable and that those erring officials who in the past issued the pattas would be penalised. Once the government wins the case, he said it will evict the encroachers and hand over the land for expansion and development of the airport.
He also said a joint survey for expansion and development of the airport will be carried out with district administration, Assam Rifles, CRPF and Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Meanwhile, Alam also informed that AAI officials from Guwahati had called on him Tuesday to discuss about the problem posed by water logging at Dimapur airport which has caused frequent disruption of flights. He said the meeting decided that the Water Resources Department would work with AAI to solve the problem.
4-Lane delay: He said the inordinate delay in completion of 4-lane over NH 2 was with package 3 where the contractor appointed by National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) had abandoned the particular stretch and then took the matter to court. Alam disclosed that the state government had written to NHIDCL while he personally met with the MD (NHIDCL) as December 2023 was the revised date for completion of the project.
The chief secretary said contractors were laying stone gravels on the road just to make it ply able although they were not supposed to do so. He said the state government had written to NHIDCL about the pitiable condition of Dimapur-Mao stretch of NH2 and hoped action would be taken. The chief secretary emphasised on ensuring that the NH 2 was well paved and smooth at least ahead of the Hornbill Festival in December.
NLTP: On the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act 1989, the chief secretary also admitted that sales of spurious liquor have boomed during the past 30 year of prohibition in Nagaland.
In order to decide on what needed to be done in response, he said the state government had been holding consultations with various organisations and for which a review committee so constituted, had submitted a comprehensive report to the government.
According to the wide views, he said prohibition only resulted in smuggling and sale of spurious liquor which had led many young people turning to drugs instead of spurious alcohol. He also said it was viewed that prohibition had a negative impact on tourism and also on state revenue.
According to Alam, the review committee’s report will be discussed by the cabinet which will decide on whether to lift or not to lift prohibition.
He also said the fast growing threat from addiction to “Sunflower drugs” in the north east was also discussed at the recently held NEC meeting at Guwahati. He said a review meeting on drug trafficking will be chaired by deputy chief minister and that anti-drug operations will be intensified in all districts.
Medical college: The state government has written to the ministry of health with proposal to make Nagaland Institute of Medical Sciences Research (NIMSR) at Kohima (erstwhile Nagaland Medical College) to the level of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) but so far no response was received, the chief secretary said.
The NIMSR is yet to be functional but has suffered a setback as Prof. Dr. Soumya Chakraborty who was appointed in September 2022 as the director-cum-Dean has not been released by the parent institute.
ULB: Alam said Urban Local Bodies (ULB) polls would be held after electoral rolls are completed by November 24,2022 but that ULB polls will not clash with scheduled assembly election.
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