The Joint Committee on Prevention of Illegal Immigrants (JCPI) said along with the apex Naga tribal hohos of Nagaland it has resolved to support the exercise of Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN).
JCPI convenor K. Ghokheto Chopy and secretary Tia Longchar, in a release on Thursday, said a meeting was held with apex Naga tribal hohos to discuss the issue of RIIN announced by the Nagaland government.
During the meeting, it was resolved that they would take responsibility to sincerely work in order to obtain an acceptable and authentic register towards the fulfilment of the basic concept and objectives of the exercise.
Also read: Nagaland: Consultative meeting resolves to support RIIN
In this connection, the meeting urged the Nagaland government to invoke the provisions of the Nagaland Village and Tribal Councils Act, 1978 (Fourth Amendment) Act, 2009.
They sought involvement of the village councils and the apex tribal councils to authenticate the list of indigenous inhabitants with vetting power in their respective jurisdictions.
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According to the committee, the implementation of the register is indispensible to effectively enforce the new system of inner-line permit.
It also said the real time registry of indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland by identifying the status of authentic statistics under various categories is essential for implementation of government programmes and policies in the state.
The committee, however, said the proposed register must be generated on the basis of the notification No. AR-8/8/76 dated Kohima, the 28th of April, 1977 with a clear cut off date as December 1, 1963.
The meeting decided to approach the state government to provide certified true copy of the first electoral roll published on December 5, 1963 from the original record of the election department which is free from manipulation.
The committee also resolved to affirm its earlier resolution and urge the state government to notify extension of Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 to cover the entire administrative jurisdiction of the state, including Dimapur, immediately.
On Wednesday, the state government convened a consultative meeting with legislators, tribal hohos, civil society organisations, NGOs, senior citizens and government officials on creation of the register.
The meeting unanimously resolved to support and extend cooperation to the state government for implementation of the register.
It was also resolved that the enumeration would be carried out only after consultations with all stakeholders and the final modalities/guidelines are agreed upon.
All the tribal hohos and civil society organisations endorsed the decision of the state government to implement the register and expressed their desire to support such initiatives.
Meanwhile, Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio called on Governor P.B. Acharya at the Raj Bhavan in Kohima on Thursday to apprise him of Wednesday’s consultative meeting on RIIN and other matters relating to the state, a Raj Bhavan release said.