Nagaland: Stop issuing PRCs to non-indigenous people, says NSF

Dimapur: The inner line regulation commission (ILRC) of the Naga Students’ Federation on Wednesday urged village councils and gaon burhas (village heads) of Nagaland not to issue permanent resident certificates (PRCs) to non-indigenous people residing in their jurisdiction.

In a statement, the ILRC said issuance of PRCs to non-indigenous persons is not permissible and stands in direct contravention of the spirit of the inner line pass (ILP) system.

Expressing concern that some village councils and gaon buras are issuing PRCs to non-indigenous persons, the commission said it has documentary evidence that certain village authorities were issuing PRCs to non-indigenous individuals.

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The commission, however, stated that the issuance of temporary resident certificates (TRCs) to them may be acceptable for administrative convenience.

It urged those individuals or village authorities indulging in such issuance of PRCs to immediately desist from doing so.

Also, citing media reports that certain individuals have been harassing non-locals under the guise of conducting ILP checks, the ILRC reiterated that no individual or group is authorised to undertake such checks unless duly empowered by the competent authority.

Meanwhile, the commission acknowledged and appreciated the initiative of the state government for introducing the landowner-tenant registration App as a supporting mechanism for effective ILP enforcement.

The statement said this development is in line with the concerns and recommendations earlier conveyed by the ILRC to the chief secretary through a formal representation on the need for a mandatory landlord-tenant registration system.

The commission directed all the federating units of NSF to ensure that house owners within their districts/jurisdictions who are renting out premises to non-local tenants mandatorily make use of the government's landowner-tenant registration App available at https://police.government.gov.in, and duly register their tenants.