Taking Nagaland towards a ‘State of Excellence’?

As ruling alliance assumes office, a reflection on some campaign promises

Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 9

Free quality education for all girls up to PG level? Free scooty for meritorious college-going female students? Restructuring of Public transports? Smart villages? One Village One Product? A cultural university?

These, among many others, are the possibilities the citizens of Nagaland must look forward to if the ruling alliance of Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)-Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) fulfil at least half of the pledges in their respective manifestos in the run-up to the general elections to the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly held on February 27.  

During the political campaigning, the former vowed to take ‘Nagaland towards a State of Excellence’ while the latter batted for ‘Peace and Development’ and released glossy manifestos, outlining often lofty policies for future socio-economic development, security and other issues over the next five years.

For BJP, its ‘vision document’ encompasses a “road map for the state’s development,” while for the NDPP, its manifesto was a “reflection of our core values of democracy, progress, and inclusivity.”

As the ruling allies are set to helm the state of affairs in Nagaland once again, The Morung Express presents an analysis of what the people can expect out of the ‘new’ government over the next five years.

A closer look at each of the documents revealed that the BJP relied mostly on announcing large sums of money, approximately Rs 10,603 crore towards various sectors including welfare, economic and social development, and infrastructure, etc. 

But beyond the monetary promises, most proposals merit further discussion, and much like the NDPP’s manifesto, was more or less regurgitation of the past manifesto and long-standing civil society talking points.

However, it remains to be seen how many promises would be actually honoured in the course of the alliance’s second tenure. 

BJP vision document
The BJP party’s manifesto was unveiled with the promise of providing ‘free quality education’ to all girls of the state ‘from KG to PG (Post-Graduate).’ Besides the free-of-cost quality education to all female students, it promised free scooty to meritorious college-going female students.

It also promised two free LPG cylinders per year for Ujjwala beneficiaries and assured to double the insurance cap for families under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. The party also assured people of providing free rice and wheat monthly and 5 kg of black chickpeas and one litre of mustard oil per family quarterly at subsidised rates to all PDS beneficiaries for the general welfare, in addition to other perks for several other centrally sponsored welfare schemes.

The saffron party also announced a slew of measures for creating infrastructure, economic advancement, and boosting healthcare and agriculture, besides skill development, including women investment of Rs 200 crore for ‘Mother & Child Department’ in all district hospitals, and establishment of a Women Warrior Battalion, the state’s first all-women police battalion.

Significantly, it promised a special package for the eastern part of the state and establishment of a board for the holistic development of the region.

“We will work with the central government to expedite the construction of the Trans-Nagaland Highway to enable easy access across districts, especially from eastern Nagaland,” it also stated.

In order to empower the youth, the BJP has said it would provide two lakh self-employment opportunities in the next five years, and introduce Nagaland tourism skill mission to provide training and employment opportunities to 50,000 local youth.

Building all-weather roads connecting villages with state and national highways was another promise, and the party said Kohima would be connected with the railway network by 2024.

BJP national president JP Nadda also claimed that the solution to the Naga political issue is at the final stage though the matter was left out of the manifesto.

Towards a ‘state of excellence’
In NDPP for the most part, focused on human resource development, capacity building, and innovative employment policies. The party proposed the establishment of merit-based youth employment schemes, a Centre of Excellence for Music and Arts, and an Institute of Traditional & Folk Music. The party also proposed the establishment of BPOs and call centres in Nagaland.

When it comes to infrastructure development, the NDPP manifesto stated that PMGSY would continue to be effectively and strictly monitored so that the villages in Nagaland are connected through quality roads. Similarly, considering the agrarian structure of rural society, it put emphasis on developing roads and installing modern farming and irrigation technologies. 

“An Organic Farming Policy will be actively pursued with a vision to turn Nagaland into the organic hub of India and indigenous seeds will be preserved,” the manifesto stated.

The NDPP stated that the Register for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) has already been submitted and efforts are being made to implement the same at the earliest. “Our culture is our wealth,” it said while adding that the party would leave no stone unturned to protect the rich heritage, culture and traditions of the people. 

Towards this end, unlike the BJP who pledged to promised to establish a dedicated Nagaland cultural research fund with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore to preserve the Naga identity, set up a cultural university and invest Rs 100 crore to promote and expand the scope of all major tribal festivals, the NDPP did not have a clear-cut plan other than strictly enforcing the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime to ensure that ‘illegal immigrants’ are not allowed into the state.

In terms of women welfare, the NDPP manifesto stated that it supports reservations for women and taking all stakeholders into confidence, it would carry out the implementation of women’s reservations. 

Specific promises for the development of Eastern Nagaland were also made by the NDPP such as setting up a mini-secretariat in the region. The manifesto stated that development departments will have a special Eastern Nagaland Cell and various measures would be taken up for skill development, expansion of banking and financial services, and upgrade of International Trade Centres.

For the health sector, the NDPP proposed the upgrade and modernisation of existing healthcare facilities while emphasising on affordability. In the education sector, the NDPP as well as the BJP mooted setting up a new state university along with an action plan to boost the Nagaland University.

Notably, the NDPP pledged to set up a high-powered body that monitors the implementation of the manifesto to ensure that it “is not just a political gimmick for electoral purposes.” The body will be empowered to follow up with various departments and advice the government on actions to be taken in an effective and time-bound manner, it said.

The government will set clear objectives for the first month after formation and the 100 days targets will be made public. The performance of Ministers and the administration will be reviewed periodically, the NDPP manifesto stated.