The revised Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) Bill, 2026, sets out a list of major development projects for Eastern Nagaland under a proposed Special Development Grant, ranging from a separate Nagaland University campus and upgraded medical facilities to four-lane inter-district roads, a domestic airport and an Eastern Frontier Railway.
The Second Schedule of the Bill contains an illustrative list of development projects and institutions that could be implemented under the Special Development Grant for the Frontier Nagaland Territory, comprising Mon, Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire, Noklak and Shamator.
Among the projects listed are a separate campus of Nagaland University through the upgrading of Wakching Modern College, upgradation of the Medical College at Mon to a Regional Institute, a National Institute of Information Technology, an Engineering and Management College, a Nursing College and an Agricultural University or Research Centre.
The list also includes a Herbal Medicine and Ayurvedic Hospital and Research Centre, a History, Language and Culture Research Centre, a Handicraft and Handloom Research Centre, Polytechnic Institutes/ITIs and four-lane inter-district roads.
On connectivity, the Bill lists an Eastern Frontier Railway connecting Kiphire and Naginimora/Tizit, a domestic airport or airstrip in the Frontier Nagaland Territory, and a Trans Eastern Frontier Highway connecting Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur through the FNT.
The proposed development list further includes international trade centres and FNTA guest houses at the FNTA headquarters, New Delhi and Guwahati.
The projects are linked to the Special Development Grant envisaged under the Bill, with the Government of India empowered to fund development projects in view of the underdevelopment and infrastructure deficits in the region.
The Bill states that projects under the grant would be identified by the FNTA in consultation with the State Government.
The Bill provides that the State Government would allocate funds to the FNTA, with the development outlay for Eastern Nagaland to be shared proportionally on the basis of population and area. Funds allocated to the FNTA would be placed under a separate major subhead within the State Budget.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio had earlier stated in the Assembly that the State Government had sought an enhancement of the proposed Special Development Grant from Rs 5,000 crore to a minimum of Rs 10,000 crore, citing the scale of developmental requirements in Eastern Nagaland.
The Bill also provides for an interim council of up to 13 members, recommended by the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO) in consultation with the respective Tribal Councils, until the FNTA is constituted through elections.
The proposed authority is to function within the State of Nagaland, with the Bill expressly providing that the special constitutional provisions under Article 371(A), the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 and the exemption from Panchayati Raj will continue to apply without amendment or dilution.
The projects listed in the Second Schedule are illustrative and do not, by themselves, constitute a guarantee that all the projects will be sanctioned or implemented.