FCA opposed
Mokokchung, 1 September (MTNews): The controversial Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) election in Nagaland has finally reached a ‘more or less accepted’ solution, except for other areas such as exclusion, omission, and deletion of certain words like ‘tax,’ said Minister for Power and Parliamentary Affairs, KG Kenye. The Minister announced this following a consultative meeting held today, together with all the tribal hohos and civil society organizations of the state.
Kenye also informed that the State Government repealed the Nagaland Municipal Act of 2001 on 28 March to introduce a new Act. However, the draft proposal couldn’t be presented during today’s meeting as it is still in the preparation and review stage.
He further explained that the draft proposal will undergo additional scrutiny by the panel and Cabinet. Further consultations will be conducted before presenting the final draft in the State Assembly for enactment into law.
Regarding the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Kenye stated that the State Government had made a representation to the 22nd Law Commission, highlighting Nagaland’s socio-political background and the special provisions under Article 371(A). He emphasized that “this is not acceptable to us,” and they intend to pass a resolution to that effect in the upcoming state assembly.
On the Forest (Conservation) Act, Kenye also informed that an agreement was reached during the meeting, stating that the “extension of 100 kilometers” from the international borders into Nagaland state would not be accepted. As a result, the state plans to make a decision during the upcoming state assembly session and pass a resolution to affirm this stance.
Principal Secretary, Home, Abhijit Sinha, clarified that the present FCA amendment applies only to government-reserved areas. He emphasized that there was no external pressure from the Central Government to implement this, reaffirming Nagaland’s consistent position on the matter.