Revised FNTA Bill proposes a 62-member authority with wide legislative, executive and financial powers over 46 subjects in eastern Nagaland
KOHIMA — The revised Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) Bill, 2026, proposes a 62-member authority with legislative, executive, administrative and financial powers over 46 subjects across six districts of eastern Nagaland.
The proposed arrangement gives the FNTA a significant role in governing and planning development in Tuensang, Mon, Longleng, Kiphire, Noklak and Shamator, while keeping it within Nagaland’s constitutional and legal framework.
The Bill was introduced in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, the first day of the ninth session of the 14th NLA. The Assembly is expected to consider and pass it on September 3.
The legislation follows the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed on February 5, 2026, between the government of India, government of Nagaland and the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO).
Also read: Nagaland Assembly to take up revised FNTA Bill on September 3
Who will make up the FNTA?
The FNTA will have 62 members. Forty will be directly elected from single-member territorial constituencies through adult suffrage. One-third of these seats will be reserved for women.
Two additional members will be nominated by the governor, in consultation with the FNTA, from recognised tribes of the Frontier Nagaland Territory (FNT) that are unrepresented or under-represented. Unlike the 20 ex-officio MLAs, these nominated members will have voting rights.
The remaining 20 members will be MLAs whose Assembly constituencies fall within the FNT. They will be ex-officio members but will not have voting rights.
The 20 MLAs will also be barred from becoming members of the FNTA’s executive council.
The elected members will normally serve five-year terms. The state government will determine the boundaries of the 40 constituencies through an order published in the official gazette, while elections will be conducted under the overall control of the state election commission.
Who will run the FNTA?
The executive authority will be vested in an executive council of not more than nine members. The council will be headed by a chief executive member (CEM), with a deputy chief executive member (DyCM). Both, along with the other council members, will remain in office as long as they retain majority support in the FNTA.
For protocol purposes, the CEM and DyCM will have the status of cabinet ministers in Nagaland. The other executive council members will have the status of ministers of state within the FNT. The 20 ex-officio MLAs cannot join the executive council.
What happens before elections?
The Bill provides for an interim council before the elected FNTA is constituted. The state government may constitute the interim body, with the governor nominating up to 13 members recommended by ENPO in consultation with the respective tribal councils.
The governor may also nominate up to four elected representatives from the FNT — one MP and three MLAs — as advisers to help coordinate with the central and state governments.
The interim council can function for a maximum of one year or until the first elected FNTA is constituted, whichever is earlier.
What legislative powers will the FNTA have?
The proposed FNTA will have the power to make laws, rules, regulations and orders on subjects transferred to it under the Bill.
It will also be able to prepare integrated development plans, implement schemes and undertake other functions connected with the transferred subjects.
The legislative power, however, is not independent of the state government and governor.
A proposed FNTA law must first be approved by a majority of the authority’s voting members. It will then be sent to the state government, which will forward it with its comments to the governor.
The law will have no effect until it receives the governor’s assent and is published in the official gazette.
Existing laws enacted by the Nagaland Legislature will continue to apply in the FNT. If an FNTA rule or regulation concerning a transferred subject conflicts with a state law, the state law will prevail to the extent of the conflict.
How much control will the state retain?
Despite the FNTA’s broad powers, the state government will continue to play a major role in its administration.
The state will appoint an IAS officer, preferably of additional chief secretary rank and not below principal secretary, as the FNTA’s chief executive secretary (CES), subject to availability.
The CES will head the FNTA Secretariat and work according to the policies, directions and instructions of the authority.
Departments under the FNTA will also be headed by officers posted by the state government. Their postings to the FNTA secretariat will be made in consultation with the CEM.
The officers will remain part of their respective state cadres and continue to be subject to state service rules, disciplinary control and transfer policy.
The Bill provides preference to officers and staff belonging to recognised Naga tribes of the FNT in specified categories.
Grade III recruitment will continue through the NPSC/NSSB for the entire state. The FNTA will have greater authority over Grade IV appointments, redeployment and rationalisation within its jurisdiction, while technical Grade IV staff will continue to be recruited through the concerned department or directorate selection committees.
Will the FNTA control the police?
No. The Bill does not transfer overall police administration to the FNTA. The state government will post an IGP Range at the FNTA headquarters to supervise police administration across the FNT. DIG-level posts may also be created elsewhere if required.
The FNTA, with assistance from ENPO and tribal councils, will endeavour to maintain peace in the region.
It will also have a role in preserving and modernising the Village Guards, including their restructuring, recruitment and training, in consultation with and with financial assistance from the government of India.
How will the FNTA be funded?
The Bill proposes a separate budgetary arrangement for the authority. The governor, on the advice of the state government, will allocate funds for the FNTA’s administrative and development responsibilities.
For eastern Nagaland, the development outlay will be shared proportionally according to population and area after common expenditures are deducted. The development funds earmarked for the region will then be apportioned between the state government and FNTA.
The FNTA’s funds will be shown under a separate major sub-head in the state budget and released in a time-bound manner according to state and central norms.
The authority will prepare its annual plan within the funds allocated to it and may establish its own planning and finance set-up.
All development funds allocated to the FNTA will be subject to CAG audit. The audit report and action-taken report will be placed before the state assembly at the end of the financial year.
What are the 46 subjects?
The First Schedule identifies 46 subjects proposed for transfer to the FNTA.
They cover many areas of everyday governance and development, including:
* agriculture and allied activities;
* tribal art and culture;
* cooperation;
* non-reserve forests;
* irrigation and shifting cultivation;
* fisheries;
* primary healthcare;
* school education up to higher secondary level;
* horticulture;
* labour and employment;
* land records, revenue and land resources;
* Village Councils and urban local bodies;
* renewable energy and rural electrification;
* public transport;
* district roads and bridges;
* rural development;
* sericulture;
* social welfare and skill development;
* trade and commerce;
* tourism;
* Village Guards;
* veterinary and animal husbandry;
* water resources;
* youth and sports;
* handloom and handicrafts;
* housing;
* tribal affairs;
* public health engineering;
* markets and fairs; and
* fire and emergency services up to the district level.
The transfer of some subjects comes with specific limits.
Healthcare, for instance, will initially cover services only up to the primary health centre level. The feasibility of transferring higher medical centres and institutions will be considered later after the effectiveness of the arrangement is assessed.
School education will cover up to the higher secondary level.
In the power sector, the FNTA may handle new and renewable energy, mini-hydel projects and rural electrification, including distribution, revenue collection and maintenance of power lines. However, power dues collected will be deposited into the state exchequer.
Tourism projects located exclusively within ENPO areas will be managed by the FNTA, while tourism circuits and destinations with state-wide potential will remain with the state government.
Geology and mining will remain exclusively with the state, although a regional office will be established under the FNTA.
What major projects are proposed?
The Bill envisages central assistance through a Special Development Grant aimed at addressing the infrastructure deficit and underdevelopment in the FNT.
Projects will be identified by the FNTA in consultation with the state government.
The illustrative list includes a separate Nagaland University campus through the upgrading of Wakching Modern College; upgrading Mon Medical College to a regional institute; an institute of information technology; DIET/B.Ed, engineering and management colleges; a nursing college; a hotel management institution; and an agricultural university or research centre.
Other proposals include a history, language and culture research centre, polytechnic/ITI, four-lane inter-district roads, the Eastern Frontier Railway connecting Kiphire with Naginimora/Tizit, a domestic airport or airstrip, the Trans-Eastern Frontier Highway connecting Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur through the FNT, and international trade centres.
What happens to Article 371A and customary institutions?
The Bill specifically states that Article 371A will continue to apply, along with the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), 1873, and the exemption from Panchayati Raj.
The provisions are to continue without amendment or dilution.
Village councils and urban local bodies will remain statutory bodies under the applicable laws. The FNTA may take steps to improve their functioning and recommend the creation of new institutions.
How will implementation be monitored?
A joint monitoring committee comprising representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs, government of Nagaland, FNTA and ENPO will periodically review implementation of the February 5 MoA.
The Bill also allows for suspension or dissolution of the FNTA in circumstances including failure of the CEM or executive council to discharge its functions, failure to perform assigned responsibilities or political instability that prevents administration according to law.
In such circumstances, the state government may recommend action to the governor, who may suspend or dissolve the authority and appoint an administrator. Such administration cannot continue beyond six months.
The performance of the FNTA’s administrative set-up is proposed to be reviewed after 10 years to determine whether it is effectively meeting the aspirations of the people of the Frontier Nagaland Territory.
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