Kohima, March 13: Speaker of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, Sharingain Longkumer, on March 12 adjourned the House till March 25 after the completion of the day’s proceedings during the ongoing Eighth Session of the 14th Assembly. He informed members that the second phase of the session will resume on March 26 at the Assembly Hall in Kohima.
During the fifth day of the session, MLA Achumbemo Kikon raised a starred question on the status of the Tchunjanphen and Lio-Longchym/Longayim police outposts, stressing that recent incidents in the area required urgent attention and calling for the deployment of additional police personnel.
Responding to the query, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister-in-charge of Border Affairs Yanthungo Patton informed the House that a temporary police outpost had been set up in the area, while a proposal for establishing a permanent outpost was currently under process. He added that the establishment of a permanent outpost at Lio-Longchym was under examination by the state government and stated that authorities were considering setting up nine new police outposts in border villages.
During supplementary questions, Patton said the state had withdrawn its police outposts following the 1972 Interim Agreement, while Assam had since established 63 permanent police outposts along the Assam–Nagaland border.
Addressing rumours about alleged training fees for candidates selected in the ongoing police constable recruitment, Patton clarified that no fee of ₹2,500 would be charged from the selected candidates.
Replying to another starred question raised by Kikon regarding plantation activities in the Disputed Area Belt in the Ralan region after the recent eviction drive, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Village Guards C L John informed the House that no plantation drive had been carried out so far, though the department was considering initiating one in the coming months.
Responding to a supplementary query on whether Forest Guards had been deployed to patrol the Reserve Forest in the Disputed Area Belt, the minister said the area was currently being patrolled by neutral forces and that the state government had not stationed any personnel there at present.
In another supplementary question raised by Kikon regarding the extension of electricity from the Nagaland side to Tchunjanphen and neighbouring villages, Minister for Power and Parliamentary Affairs K G Kenye said the department’s efforts had been stalled as the Right of Way for the proposed transmission line passed through a disputed area, with a larger portion falling under Assam. However, he assured the House that the department was exploring an alternative route to provide electricity to the villages.
Kikon also raised concerns that several villages in the border region, though recognised by the state government during geo-tagging, currently fall under Assam and should be properly demarcated during the census exercise. Sharing the concern, Minister for PHE and Cooperation Jacob Zhimomi suggested writing to the concerned ministry or department to ensure real-time population data and accurate geographical mapping of Nagaland, so that residents of border areas are not deprived of basic facilities and government benefits.
