Nagaland gets less DoNER funding than peers, state tells Centre

Nagaland has received less funding from the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) than several other North Eastern states, the state's Principal Secretary and Development Commissioner Y. Kikheto Sema told a central review meeting in Kohima on Wednesday, October 21.

The meeting, held in the Development Commissioner's office, reviewed projects under the Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) and other MDoNER schemes. It was attended by MDoNER Joint Secretary Dr Vipul Aggarwal and representatives of line departments, according to the state's Directorate of Information and Public Relations.

What MDoNER asked for

Aggarwal, on his second visit to Nagaland, sought clarification on several key projects, including:

• a 50-bed hospital at the new district headquarters in Peren
• a multispeciality hospital at Chumoukedima
• indoor and outdoor stadium facilities at Peren Government College

He asked the state to prioritise projects for the 16th Finance Commission urgently, and to submit its lists by the end of October without waiting for final allocation figures. Liabilities from the 14th and 15th Finance Commission periods would not be carried over into the 17th, he said.

He called for a clear completion roadmap, with priority to older projects and those that can be finished by next financial year, and for need-based proposals targeting gaps in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) performance. Funding was available for deserving projects, he said, but timely completion was essential, and Nagaland needed to do more to improve socio-economic development.

The state's case

Sema thanked the Centre for its support since MDoNER was set up in 1998, but said funding had not matched the state's needs. Nagaland received ₹5,339.50 crore from 1998 to 2025, which he said made it the third-lowest recipient in the region despite being the second-oldest North Eastern state after Assam.

He said the state has 71 ongoing MDoNER projects. Some have been delayed by land issues, natural calamities and contractor delays, and the state is trying to resolve them, including at the Chief Minister's level. He asked the ministry to take a considerate view given Nagaland's unique landholding system.

With government jobs nearing saturation, he said the state was looking to plantation and commercial crops such as coffee, tea, rubber and agarwood, as well as eco-tourism, to create livelihoods for young people.

He also raised cases where the Centre agreed to give extra funding outside the state's normal allocation but later adjusted it within the existing allocation, and asked for consistency in such commitments.