Naga Students Federation Calls for Revamping Inner Line Permit Enforcement

Demands for Enhanced ILP Mechanism

Dimapur, Oct 3: The Naga Students Federation (NSF) has urged for a comprehensive reform of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) enforcement system. They propose the establishment of an autonomous Nagaland Inner Line Regulation Commission through legislative action, reinstatement of checkpoints, a centralized entry-and-exit log, and improved inter-departmental coordination.

The NSF's Inner Line Regulation Commission (ILRC) submitted a detailed 17-page document to Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Thursday. Their analysis, based on 1,490 pages of records acquired via the Right to Information Act, revealed that 644 ILP violations were identified during police inspections over a two-day period in April, yet only one removal was documented in the provided materials, highlighting the need for a significant overhaul of the ILP enforcement process.

The report indicated that numerous individuals were found to be in violation of Nagaland’s ILP regulations during enforcement drives in 2026, but the subsequent actions taken appear to be minimal, as per the government records compiled by the ILRC.

The ILRC's recommendations stemmed from a national seminar focused on the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), 1873, which took place in Dimapur in August.

Additionally, the commission requested information from the State Home Department and all 17 district administrations in May 2026 regarding this issue. They also referenced previous RTI requests submitted in August 2025.

The findings, along with government committee reports and other documents, indicated significant discrepancies between detection and enforcement.

As per the ILRC, the Nagaland Police conducted checks on over 1,900 permits on April 10 and 11, following the Assam Assembly elections and the Mokokchung by-election.

They reported identifying 436 violators on April 10 and an additional 208 on April 11, among other ILP violations detected.