What happened
CM Neiphiu Rio addressed the NITI Aayog Northeast states consultation with a comprehensive ask: a new IIT on 260 acres at the planned-but-not-yet-built Nagaki City, an AIIMS on 200 acres nearby, a Greenfield airport at Ciethu, 14 flyovers and elevated corridors for Kohima and Dimapur, a Trans-Nagaland Foothill Road, railway expansion to remote districts, resumption of oil and natural gas exploration, inland waterways development, and Special Central Assistance grants to replace phased-out Revenue Deficit Grants. Nagaland has a population of approximately two million people. The proposed IIT is to be built in a city that does not yet fully exist. The oil exploration request refers to reserves whose development has stalled for decades due to insurgency concerns and unresolved land rights. NITI Aayog noted Nagaland's requests. The meeting proceeded. The state's existing connectivity problems — roads that become rivers, towns accessible only by single-lane mountain passes — were also raised, as context.