FNTA Bill Gets President’s Assent for Six Eastern Nagaland Districts

President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) Bill, 2026, which creates an elected authority for Mon, Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire, Noklak and Shamator, the six districts of eastern Nagaland. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio announced the assent in a post on X on Sunday, 25 October, thanking the President and the Union home ministry, The Morung Express and Eastern Mirror reported. Rio called it “a key step towards realising the aspirations of the people of Eastern Nagaland”.

A 62-Member Authority With 46 Subjects

The authority will have powers over 46 subjects transferred from the state. It will have 62 members: 40 elected from single-member constituencies, with a third of these seats reserved for women; the 20 MLAs from the region as ex-officio members without voting rights, who cannot sit on its executive council; and two members nominated by the Governor from tribes that are unrepresented or under-represented. Residents of the six districts, home to a little over four lakh voters, will elect the 40 members.

From a Statehood Demand to a Territorial Authority

The Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO), the apex body of seven Naga tribes, has demanded a separate “Frontier Nagaland” state since 2010, saying the region has been neglected since Nagaland was formed in 1963. During its shutdown on 19 April 2024, not one of those voters cast a ballot in the Lok Sabha election. The Centre, the state and ENPO signed a Memorandum of Agreement on 5 February 2026. A first Bill, introduced in March, was withdrawn after the home ministry, ENPO and the region’s legislators sought changes; a revised version passed the Assembly unanimously on 3 September. ENPO president A Chingmak Chang said then the group was satisfied “to some extent”, and that the arrangement will be reviewed after 10 years.

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Gazette Date and Funding Still Open

Under Section 1(3), the Act takes effect only on a date the state government notifies in the Official Gazette, and no date has been announced. Chang said in September that the Centre had not approved any financial package, including a reported ₹10,000 crore demand, and proposed a joint monitoring committee of ENPO, the state, the home ministry and the FNTA. Neither government has said when elections to the authority will be held or how it will be funded.

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Source: Based on reporting by The Morung Express, Eastern Mirror, Nagaland Post and Deccan Herald.

Image: The Morung Express.