Draft Register of Indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland will be published on September 11
Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, June 30: Citizens of Nagaland can rest assured fake issuance of indigenous certificates will no longer be an issue. Indigenous Inhabitants can also avail their certificates digitally without the hassle of visiting offices with the setting up of the Register of Indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) by the government of Nagaland.
According to a notification issued on June 29, the RIIN will be set up in the next 60 days starting from July 10. "The RIIN will be the master list of all indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland," it stated.
The RIIN will be prepared with an extensive survey with the help of village and ward wise list of indigenous inhabitants based on official records and will be prepared under the supervision of district administration, it read.
There will be teams for each village and ward (urban area) with SDO (C)/EAC as its chairman along with the members comprised of BDO/UDO, headmaster of Govt. High School (to be nominated by DEO), two GBs (nominated by the deputy commissioner); and two GPS/GMS/GHS teachers (nominated by DEO). Deputy commissioners have been directed to ensure all teams are constituted by name within seven days of publication of the notification.
The designated teams will visit each house and make a list of the indigenous inhabitants. Each family member will be listed in the village of their original residence. Mention will be made if the member is residing in towns such as Kohima and Dimapur or elsewhere. The format for making the list will mention permanent and present residence separately. Aadhaar numbers will also be recorded wherever available, it informed.
The list of indigenous inhabitants will be published in the respective villages and wards and authenticated by village and ward authorities under the supervision of district administration.
The provisional lists prepared by the teams will be published in the villages and wards as well as on the website of the district and the state government on September 11. Claims and objections can be filed for a period of 30 days i.e. on or before October 10.
Anyone whose name has been missed out can submit a claim and anyone who thinks that someone's name has been wrongly included will be able to submit an objection. The respective deputy commissioner will adjudicate the claims and objections based on official records and evidence produced by the person filing the claim or the objection. For cases of objection, opportunity will be given to the person to refute. This process will be completed within a period of 2 months i.e. on or before December 10.
Each indigenous inhabitant will be then given a unique ID. Accordingly, the final list of indigenous inhabitants under RIIN will be created and copies of the same will be placed in the respective villages, wards, districts, and at state level. Electronic copies will also be placed in the digital locker at State Data Centre and a mechanism of electronic and SMS based authentication of indigenous inhabitant certificates will be built. This will be done as part of the online system of Inner Line Permits.
All the indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland whose names are included in the RIIN will be issued a bar-code and numbered Indigenous Inhabitant Certificates across the state.
“Once the process is complete and all genuine indigenous Inhabitants are issued certificates with unique ID and RIIN is notified, all existing Indigenous Inhabitants Certificates issued by any authority will become invalid," it stated.
The nodal officers will be appointed to visit districts at least once per month. Their role will be to monitor the implementation and will not interfere in the adjudication process which will be the responsibility of the deputy commissioners. The nodal officers will submit monthly reports of their visits, meetings etc. to the Permanent Committee before 20th of each month. The exercise will also be reviewed and monitored by the chief secretary every month.
Thereafter, no fresh indigenous inhabitant certificates will be issued except for newborn babies and children born to indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland, for whom it will be ensured to issue indigenous inhabitant certificates along with their birth certificates. They will be simultaneous updated to the RIIN database with due intimation to the village, ward, and district authorities. The RIIN database will be updated with latest photographs and other details, every five years.
There will be a complete ban on issue of fresh indigenous inhabitant certificates. In the case of anyone being left out from the RIIN, he/she needs to file an application before the home commissioner who will get the matter verified and take the necessary action of updating the RIIN if needed, it stated.
While talking to , Chief Secretary Temjen Toy said that the RIIN will be very relevant for Nagaland as it will register the entire indigenous inhabitants. He added that the RIIN will help students who have completed their matriculation.
“The students will no more run around offices for all these certificates. Once they are registered, they will remain registered as it will be available in the digital locker,” he shared.
