A three-member committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been constituted to visit Nagaland and study over the next few days the demand raised by the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organization (ENPO) for a separate state.

The committee is headed by MHA advisor AK Mishra, and includes joint director (Intelligence Bureau) Dr Mandeep Singh Tull and director of MHA’s northeast division AK Dhyani.

According to official information, the team will reach Nagaland on December 16.

The committee is scheduled to hold meetings with the ENPO, tribal leaders, civil society organisations, senior citizens, district administration and state government officials during the days at the Tuensang district headquarters.

The MHA committee is also expected to visit the ITC, DAN Pangsha, located along the Indo-Myanmar border.

The ENPO has called an urgent meeting of the central executive committee on December 19 after the central committee’s visit.

The ENPO, which represents seven tribes of six eastern districts in Nagaland including Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire, Longleng, Noklak and Shamator, has been demanding a separate ‘Frontier Nagaland’ state since 2010 over alleged issues of development or lack thereof.