Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio on Friday expressed reservation against the Centre’s move to fence the India-Myanmar border and emphasised on “thorough discussions” to resolve the issue that has drawn opposition from several quarters in Mizoram and Nagaland.

“That (border fencing) needs thorough discussion and we have to consult people. If needed, we have to work out a formula on how to solve the issue of the public and also to prevent infiltration,” Rio told reporters.

Nagaland has an NDPP-BJP coalition government since 2018. Rio belongs to the NDPP.

Explaining the complexities involved, Rio said: “Nagaland has border with Myanmar. Both sides we have Nagas. My village is on one side (of the border) and my kheti (farmland) is on the other. So there has to be a workable formula.”

Nagaland shares a 215km border with Myanmar. The other northeastern states that share borders with Myanmar are Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. Barring a 10km stretch in Manipur, the border is porous, leading to influx, free movement of rebels and cross-border smuggling.

On January 20, home minister Amit Shah had said in Tezpur that the Centre had decided to end the free movement of people through the India-Myanmar border and fence it like the boundary with Bangladesh.

He also informed about the Centre’s decision to do away with the Free Movement Regime (FRM), which allows people living on either side of the border to travel 16km without any visa.

The porous border has been in focus since the outbreak of the ongoing ethnic unrest in Manipur, with the N. Biren Singh-government and Meitei civil society groups accusing terrorists and infiltrators from across the border of fanning the unrest that has left over 200 dead and over 67,000 displaced. Manipur government and Meitei organisations have been demanding fencing and scrapping of the FMR.

However, the Kuki-Zos of Manipur and Mizoram have opposed the move to fence the border because the Chins of Myanmar share the same Zo ancestry with the Mizos and the Kukis. The Kuki-Zo people blame the state government and the radical groups for the unrest.

Mizoram chief minister Lalduhoma has also opposed the move.