Rio-led delegation urges Centre to restore Nagaland’s special funding, revive Indo-Naga peace talks, relax PAP and review FMR norms.
Share
DIMAPUR — A high-level delegation led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has urged the government of India to restore Nagaland’s earlier financial pattern from the Consolidated Fund of India and pressed for the revival of top-level political engagement in the Indo-Naga peace process, besides seeking relaxation of the Protected Area Permit (PAP) regime and a review of revised Free Movement Regime (FMR) guidelines.
According to a DIPR release on Thursday, the delegation—including Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton, members of the state Cabinet and members of the sub-committee of Political Affairs Committee (PAC)—met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi.
Members of Parliament Supongmeren Jamir (Lok Sabha) and Phangnon Konyak (Rajya Sabha) also joined the meeting with the Home minister.
Also read: Nagaland, Centre and ENPO sign MoA for Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority
On the Indo-Naga peace process, Rio reiterated that negotiations had earlier been declared as “talks at the highest level,” in line with the four-point resolutions adopted at the ‘consultative meeting on Naga political issue’ held on September 12, 2024.
He stressed the need to restore the process to the highest political level through the appointment of a ministerial or political-level interlocutor to expedite an early and honourable solution. The Home minister, the release said, responded positively and indicated that a minister of state for Home Affairs along with officers from the Home ministry would be appointed for the Naga talks.
On Nagaland’s financial pattern, Rio highlighted the state’s fiscal situation and reminded the Centre that Nagaland was created in 1963 as a special political state emerging from a political agreement. Citing Point 11 of the 16-Point Agreement, he stated that the Union government had originally undertaken to meet Nagaland’s administrative and development expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India.
The chief minister said that the withdrawal of this arrangement in 1989, “without dialogue or concurrence of the state”, had placed Nagaland in a structurally vulnerable fiscal position, making it dependent on revenue deficit grants.
He appealed for restoration of the earlier financial pattern, describing the original commitment as “a nation-building commitment, not a concession”. The Home minister assured that the request would be considered for funding from the Consolidated Fund of India, while the Finance minister also assured support after the matter was flagged to her.
On the Protected Area Permit regime, Rio reiterated the state Cabinet’s position seeking complete relaxation of PAP in Nagaland. He referred to Cabinet deliberations on January 6 and March 27, 2025, and again on December 16, 2025 and February 3, 2026, and cited multiple letters written to the ministry of Home Affairs between July and November 2025 requesting a review of the re-imposition of PAP.
The Home minister assured that the matter would be positively examined.
Regarding FMR along the 215-km India–Myanmar border, Rio highlighted the traditional, social and economic ties of Naga communities on both sides of the border and said that the revised FMR guidelines had caused hardship to border communities and requested a more flexible, context-sensitive approach that balances national security with traditional rights.
The release said that the Home minister gave a patient hearing and assured a positive examination of the issue.