Reported by Bhadra Gogoi
Dimapur: The Inner Line Regulation Commission (ILRC) of the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) on Thursday said it has undertaken a transparent and inclusive stakeholder consultation process by issuing official communications and a public notice inviting non-Naga organisations to participate in consultations on the implementation of the Inner Line Regulation (ILR) in Nagaland.
In a release, the ILRC said it has made every reasonable effort to ensure that all concerned organisations were afforded an equal opportunity to participate in this important exercise.
It said the consultation process was initiated in good faith, recognising that the implementation of the ILR affects various stakeholders and that their views deserve to be heard.
The commission said it had already completed a day-long interactive consultation with the Marwari Samaj, the Muslim Council, and the Bengali Samaj on June 13.
It said any organisation that has chosen not to respond or participate, despite being officially notified, cannot subsequently claim that it was denied an opportunity to present its views, concerns, or recommendations.
According to the NSF, organisations claiming to represent the interests of their respective communities also bear the responsibility of constructively engaging on issues of public importance.
“Choosing to remain absent from such consultations is a conscious decision for which the concerned organisation alone must bear responsibility,” it stated.
The ILRC said it would proceed with the consultation process and formulate its recommendations on the basis of the views and submissions received from participating stakeholders.
The release added that the absence of any organisation from the process would not diminish the legitimacy or credibility of the commission’s stakeholder consultations.
The NSF reiterated that organisations declining the opportunity to engage during the consultative process should not expect the commission to revisit recommendations on the grounds that they were not heard when every reasonable opportunity had been extended.