Overview
- The Nagaland Legislative Assembly unanimously passed the FNTA Bill on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, creating the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority for six eastern districts.
- The FNTA will cover Tuensang, Mon, Longleng, Kiphire, Noklak and Shamator and will have 62 members including 40 directly elected territorial representatives with one-third of those seats reserved for women.
- The law sets up an Executive Council of up to nine members led by a Chief Executive Member who will hold executive powers and have the protocol status of a state cabinet minister.
- Immediate next steps are administrative: the state must publish territorial constituency boundaries in the gazette, form an Interim Council with governor nominations, appoint a Chief Executive Secretary and establish the FNTA secretariat before elections.
- The authority is framed as a development alternative to statehood demands from ENPO, preserves Article 371A and BEFR protections, and the state has asked the Centre to raise the MoA special development package from Rs 5,000 crore to at least Rs 10,000 crore for it to deliver results.