Kohima: The Naga Students’ Federation and its Inner Line Regulation Commission officially petitioned Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on October 1. They want the government to create an autonomous Nagaland Inner Line Regulation Commission. This body would act as the single authority for enforcing the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873. Currently, the Home Department, district administrations, police, and other agencies share duties, causing massive enforcement failures.
The Federation insists the state must stop releasing violators after they simply sign written undertakings. They want to end these soft measures. Records from an RTI application show that a June 9, 2025 drive in Zunheboto caught 78 people without valid passes. Nobody paid a fine. No one was deported. In Chümoukedima, 146 defaulters were released without penalty. Police checks after the April 2026 elections caught 644 people in just 48 hours. The NSF wants those cases settled immediately.
Infrastructure is missing. Towns like Tuensang, Tseminyu, Meluri, and Phek have no designated check gates. The NSF demands a published, state-wide list of all gates, their operating hours, and staff details. They also want pass verification counters at the Dimapur Airport and railway station.
The group’s proposal includes a real-time central register to track every pass from issuance to exit. Phek district records between June 2022 and May 2026 show 48 months of reporting with blank columns regarding illegal foreigners and enforcement actions. The Federation calls this a severe official lapse. Their proposal aims to fix the tracking of who enters and leaves the state. "The Federation clarified that its representation does not seek to close Nagaland or deny entry on the basis of origin, language, religion or community," according to the document.
The NSF gave the Chief Minister 30 days to respond. They want a written reply detailing if each demand is accepted or declined. Until a new commission is formed, they want the government to notify the enforcement directorate approved back in May 2025. They also propose linking trade licenses to valid passes and using the formal term "Inner Line Pass" rather than permit.
Updated at 2nd October 2026 at 5:46am
The Federation wants the new commission headed by a commissioner, retired chief secretary, or judge, supported by members from the Home, Police, Land Revenue, and municipal departments, along with tribal and student representatives. They also propose that the body file annual reports directly to the Legislative Assembly. If the government fails to set up this commission, the NSF wants the multi-departmental enforcement directorate already greenlit by the Cabinet in May 2025 to start work within 90 days.
New details from the records show that out of nine districts reviewed, only one removal was actually logged. That case involved two men caught moving cattle without permits in Tuensang in July 2025, where the costs were clawed back from the employer. The group now wants a dedicated holding facility in Dimapur for people awaiting removal, with expenses billed to the guarantors.
Beyond the permit overhaul, the NSF is pushing to invoke Section 6 of the 1873 regulation to give police clear power to arrest and produce violators before a magistrate. They also want to crack down on benami businesses and start enforcing Section 7, which restricts non-natives from buying land or land products. They expect a written, line-by-line response from the Chief Minister on these points within 30 days.
Separately, state finances show a spike in activity. Nagaland collected 76 crore rupees in gross GST revenue for September, a 39 percent jump from the same month last year. Total collections for the first half of the current fiscal hit 493 crore rupees, with the active taxpayer base climbing to 11,324 registrations by the end of September.
Updated at 2nd October 2026 at 10:00am
The federation built its case on a mountain of paperwork, scouring 1,490 pages of RTI documents across 17 districts and reviewing government committee reports dating back to 2007. They also cited the June 2026 Gauhati High Court ruling, which confirmed the Inner Line system as a valid, reasonable restriction and dismissed three separate petitions challenging its extension into Dimapur, Chümoukedima, and Niuland.
Data analysis by the student body shows the permit system is currently functioning more as a fee collection mechanism than a security tool. Records indicate that of 8,149 permits analyzed in Chümoukedima, 82.8 percent were issued to people from Assam. Laborers took the lion's share at 57 percent, while traders and students followed. The bulk of that volume, over 6,000 permits, was pushed through in just two months: June and July 2025.
The group is demanding more than just a new commission. Their 22-point reform plan calls for the government to move beyond simple enforcement and address the economic roots of the crisis. They want authorities to crack down on benami business setups, implement stricter guarantor accountability, and finally force the registration of tenants. They also want a joint review meeting with the Home Department and the Commissioner to force these issues into the open.
Updated at 3rd October 2026 at 1:48am
The Federation traces its latest demands back to a two-day national seminar held at the Dimapur Town Hall on August 28 and 29. They argue that the government has ignored advice from past committees, including the 2015 Sentiyanger committee which pushed for district cells and holding guarantors accountable, and the 2018 Abhishek Singh report that advocated for electronic authentication and linking trade licenses to permits.
New RTI disclosures show that nine districts, including Kohima and Mon, simply failed to provide data. While the Home Department holds enforcement logs, those records remain missing from district reports. Revenue tracking is equally opaque: state-wide tables are illegible and figures regarding fines, permit counts, and collections vary wildly depending on which office provides the report. Records show 16,249 online permits issued between August 2025 and June 2026, yet the money was diverted to the Commissioner’s account without proper reconciliation.
The NSF says the current mess stems from the government ignoring the full scope of the 1873 law. They want the state to stop treating the system as a fee collection scheme and start using the teeth provided by Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. This includes amending the law to ramp up penalties and granting police explicit authority to arrest violators and confiscate illicit goods, moving beyond the current practice of taking written undertakings that do nothing to deter illegal entry.
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