Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday signed a tripartite agreement on Eastern Nagaland Calling it “a historic agreement indeed”, Modi said it would “enhance the development trajectory of Eastern Nagaland” and “open new avenues of opportunity and prosperity for the people”, underlining the government’s commitment to long-term stability in the region.
A key feature of the agreement is administrative decentralisation, a mini-secretariat for the FNTA, headed by senior state officials, and a mechanism for sharing development funds for Eastern Nagaland in proportion to population and geographical area.
The arrangement does not affect the special constitutional protections under Article 371(A) Officials said.The Union Home Minister Amit Shah describe the day as “very significant for a dispute-free North East”, the agreement marked another step towards the Prime Minister’s vision of a region free from insurgency, violence and prolonged disputes and further added that, armed conflicts and unresolved issues had earlier pushed parts of the North East towards instability.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO),the pact lays the groundwork for the creation of the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA).
The proposed authority will cover six eastern districts—Tuensang, Mon, Kiphire, Longleng, Noklak and Shamator—and will be vested with powers over 46 subjects.