The Mokokchung urban centre is no longer just a town confined to its eighteen municipal wards. From Aolijen in the south to Khensa and Amenyong in the north, and beyond Fazl Ali College to DEF Colony in the east, Mokokchung has steadily grown into a complex urban sprawl, one that now connects what were once considered distant villages.
This transformation began subtly in the 1980s with the emergence of satellite settlements like Yimyu and Marepkong. By the late 1990s, this trend of suburban expansion had accelerated dramatically. Yimyu, once a separate locality, is now seamlessly integrated into Mokokchung as a municipal ward. The flight to the suburbs, driven by space constraints and housing needs, has led to a paradox: the central town’s population growth has slowed, even as the surrounding areas boom.
Today, villages such as Ungma, Khensa, Mokokchung Village, and Chuchuyimpang exhibit unmistakably urban characteristics. Though still outside municipal jurisdiction, they functionally operate as extensions of the town. To visitors, the distinction is invisible.
This expanding suburban ring now supports a growing commuter population, residents who live miles away but work in the town. With improved connectivity, especially well-maintained National Highways, this ring could realistically extend to a 15-kilometre radius, absorbing current villages like Longmisa, Yisemyong, Mopungchuket, Sungratsu, Chungtia, and Alichen into a larger urban ecosystem.
But this cannot be left to chance. The carrying capacity of Mokokchung’s core town is under strain, with infrastructure nearing saturation. Without strategic intervention, the unchecked sprawl risks becoming chaotic, unsustainable, and inequitable.
When the British established their outpost here in 1890, it is plausible that they never imagined Mokokchung becoming a major urban center in the future. Today, standing at a similar inflection point, can we imagine a Greater Mokokchung in 2090?
It is time for policymakers, planners, and citizens to envision a “Greater Mokokchung”— not necessarily as one administrative unit, but as an integrated, regionally planned urban system. Growth is inevitable. The choice before us is whether that growth is guided by vision and foresight, or left to unfold in disorder. Planning now will mean living better tomorrow.
