Minister for Power and government spokesperson, KG Kenye during a press conference at his official residence at Thizama on October 16.
Morung Express News
Kohima | October 16
Against the backdrop of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) demanding cancellation of the proposed induction of a non-NCS officer into the IAS cadre, the Nagaland Government has constituted a sub-committee headed by Deputy Chief Ministers TR Zeliang and Y. Patton.
Informing this at a press conference held this evening following a Cabinet meeting, government spokesperson and Minister for Power, KG Kenye claimed that the controversy stemmed from a March 10, 2025 advertisement, which stated the entry point through NPSC as eligible for IAS induction. “That clause should not have been included,” he said, describing it as a procedural lapse by the bureaucracy.
“The file was not routed to the Chief Minister, who is also the Minister in charge of P&AR, and hence the Cabinet was not aware of the error” maintained Kenye.
Following the detection of the anomaly, he said, the advertisement was withdrawn and reissued on March 27, removing the NPSC-only condition. “This was a bureaucratic procedural lapse,” Kenye reiterated, adding that the government has since rectified the mistake.
He also explained that, as per long-standing practice and IAS Rules of 1954 and 1997, the entry point of an officer whether through NPSC or other services is not the determining factor for IAS induction. Instead, criteria such as integrity, loyalty, ability, service record, Annual Performance Reports (APRs), commitment and performance are to assess eligibility.
He maintained that the Cabinet after thorough deliberation has observed that “this is not a new trend” which the present government has introduced, but it has adhered to the practises which were set as precedence by the previous governments.
“The practice of inducting officers from other services has existed for decades,” Kenye claimed, adding that there were so many officers in the past who were conferred the highest titles and inducted into this cadre, who were not NPSC entries. He also cited the names of the officers inducted into the IAS from non-NPSC backgrounds since the 1970s.
He informed that the state has its own screening committee who see to all these details on whether they fulfil the criteria or not. This is then forwarded to the UPSC at the Centre for further scrutiny and study; to make their own observations on the recommendations of the state screening committee.
Nevertheless, he said that in order to resolve the current impasse, the Cabinet has constituted a sub-committee headed by Deputy Chief Ministers TR Zeliang and Y Patton, along with Kenye, Minister Metsubo Jamir, and the Chief Secretary as members.
He informed that the committee is scheduled to meet the agitating organisations on October 20 to find an amicable solution.
On FNTA issue
On the progress of the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) issue, Kenye said that the State Government has already provided its recommendations to the Centre.
“On many of the points we have agreed, but there were certain areas where maybe reconsiderations should be made,” he said, adding that it was on those areas that the talks were still centred around.
To address those minutely, Kenye informed that a sub-committee has been constituted by the P&AR along with ENPO officials who will address the ‘crux’ of the matter that is holding back further progress.
When asked what the ‘crux’ of the matter is, he said “only they will know; the members from both the sides, the ENPO and the P&AR.” However, he hinted at the issue of dissolution of the FNTA’s executive council.
“Everything is moving smoothly and we hope the centre will be sincere and will not waste more time, but expedite the process,” stated Kenye.
When enquired, Kenye confirmed that the Centre does not intend to amend Article 371A, but may instead introduce a state-specific provision or chapter possibly through an ordinance or an Act of the State Assembly to implement the proposed administrative framework.
