President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) Bill, 2026, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio announced on social media platform X on Sunday. Rio thanked President Murmu for granting assent and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for coordinating the process, calling it a key step towards realising the aspirations of the people of Eastern Nagaland.

Source: Nagaland Post

The Nagaland Legislative Assembly had passed the Bill unanimously on September 3, 2026. The new law creates the FNTA for six eastern districts — Tuensang, Mon, Longleng, Kiphire, Noklak and Shamator — with legislative, executive and financial autonomy in the spirit of Article 371A of the Constitution.

Source: DY365 Live

The Authority will have 62 members: 40 directly elected members, 20 MLAs from the six districts as ex-officio members without voting rights, and two members nominated by the Governor from recognised unrepresented or under-represented tribes. It will exercise powers over 46 subjects, including school education, public health, agriculture, rural development and fisheries.

The FNTA follows a Memorandum of Agreement signed on February 5, 2026 among the Government of India, the Government of Nagaland and the Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organisation (ENPO), as an alternative to ENPO's long-standing demand for a separate state. Rio told the Assembly the arrangement was not intended to separate the region from Nagaland, but to address longstanding developmental disparities in the east.

The Act will come into force on a date the state government notifies in the Official Gazette, and no date has been set yet. Until the first FNTA is elected, a state-appointed interim council can run its affairs for up to one year.