Nagaland Legislative Assembly members endorse ‘visionary and inclusive’ budget

Hekani Jakhalu speaks during the ongoing NLA session in Kohima on Friday.

• KOHIMA — During the general discussion on the budget for the year 2025-26, members of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly appreciated the Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, who is also the minister in charge of finance, for the budget—saying that it has correctly given emphasis on development issues.
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• Imkong L Imchen, Advisor for Information and Public Relations, Soil and Water Conservation, said that the “budget presentation is skilfully balanced” and thanked the chief minister for raising relevant issues in the budget session.
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• On the Naga political issue, he opined that the issue is not progressing due to many reasons and stated that the ceasefire agreement is defective and weak ‘and has only attracted more factions and divisions.’
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• He shared how the citizens are talking about money collection (extortion) by different factions and how it is killing businesses and economic activities.
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• On the ENPO demand for Frontier Nagaland, he reiterated that the cabinet has taken cognisance and discussed the matter.
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• Hekani Jakhalu, Advisor for Industries Commerce, also termed the budget as futuristic and pro-youth, as it has incorporated important initiatives for the young people. She was hopeful that the new budget would attract investors and promote the local entrepreneurs.
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• She also shared that the Nagaland government is always in shortage of funds because most of the budget is spent on pension and salary, and only about 11% of the total funds goes towards development.
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• She said that people should be aware of this information because ‘people are taking advantage of this miscommunication and accusing of misappropriation of funds.’
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• She expressed that as long as this suspicion is there between the public and government, they will never be able to work together.
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• Temjen Imna Along, Minister of Tourism and Higher Education, stated that the ‘budget is honest to the core.’
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• ‘Highlighting’ the reasons why the Nagaland government has no money, he said that unlike other states, citizens of Nagaland tend to think that it is their right not to pay any taxes.
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• “We believe that in the 22nd century, the economic stability of the state is of utmost importance, and also suggest that we look towards generating more revenues,” he said.
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• Taking into consideration how to increase taxes, he appealed to every citizen to demand GST cash memos for transactions to enhance transparency. He also appreciated the Land Resource department for enhancing and producing Nagaland coffee.
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• He mentioned that in the education sector, the finance minister has been allocating the right budget all through the years.
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• TN Mannen, Advisor for Law and Justice, and Land Revenue, stated that the current budget has correctly given emphasis on development issues and thanked the finance minister for his farsighted and noble schemes, especially in terms of health insurance, microfinancing initiatives and life insurance.
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• He also highlighted how animal husbandry can be expanded in the state, as there are many meat consumers.
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• Talking about the Naga political issue, MLA Nyamnyei Konyak stated that all the members of the house and also the “undergrounds” should come together and force the central government for a final settlement.
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• Achumbemo Kikon lauded the budget and said that it is in tune with the changing times, as it has also included AI activities. Also on the Naga political issue, he reminded why the elected members have come together to form an opposition-less government, saying that they should lead by example and walk the talk so that the other political groups will also learn from them.
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• He also proposed to the government to name the LAPD scheme after Vamuzo Phesao, recalling that it was introduced by Vamuzo when he was the chief minister of Nagaland, which was later adopted by the central government.
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• MLA Sukhato A Sema, during the discussion, expressed that several schemes, including Chief Minister Health Insurance Scheme (CMHIS), Chief Minister Micro Finance Initiative Scheme (CMMFIS) and Chief Minister Life Insurance Scheme (CMLIS), have largely benefitted the people. But citing issues that involve the CMHIS often, he said that “if the CMHIS does timely payment to the empanelled hospitals, then it will go effectively.”
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• MLA Naiba Konyak also commended the 60 MLAs for coming together in their push for a final Naga solution. With the new developments in the ENPO region, he maintained that the ENLU and ENPO appreciated the government.
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• He also proposed declaring Tobu as the new district. Further, he said that the funds mentioned in the budget for maintenance of existing roads are less, and thus he asked for additional funds if possible.
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• G Ikuto Zhimomi, Advisor for Land Resource, stated that the budget for 2025-26 can be taken as a visionary, inclusive, and people's budget. He also appreciated the finance in charge for giving priority to the agri and allied sectors over the years, stating that it has had a positive impact.
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• He mentioned that the Land Resource department is planning to participate in the upcoming International Coffee Expo in Istanbul (Turkey) under the banner of the Indian Embassy in Istanbul, with entrepreneurs set to exhibit and to explore markets for Nagaland coffee.
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• MLA Dr. Nisatuo Mero highlighted the package II of the Kohima-Jessami National Highway project, which stretches for 21.9 km.
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• He said that though the work order was issued on January 5, 2024, the work progress is very slow and negligible. Therefore, he requested the state government to look into the matter.
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• He also mentioned that in Phek district, where terrace cultivation is the common form of farming, many paddy fields have been abandoned due to migration to greener pastures.
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• Mero said that there is no manpower to tend to the abandoned fields and therefore appealed to the state government to look into the matter and encourage the farmers to reutilise the paddy fields by introducing various programmes and schemes.