Expressing deep concern over the passing of The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 in the Parliament, the Nagaland Tribes Council (NTC) has urged upon the state government to summon a special Assembly session at the earliest and adopt a resolution against the implementation of Act in Nagaland under the provision of Article 371(A).
Terming the Act as “sombre” on the land holding system provided under Art 371(A) of the Constitution of India to the people of Nagaland, NTC claimed that the Act sought to exempt land within 100 km of the country’s borders from the purview of conservation laws and permit setting up of zoos, safaris and eco-tourism facilities in forest areas. It pointed out that the Act covered the entire territorial jurisdiction of Nagaland, rendering the state as being nobody’s land.
NTC cautioned that, if enforced, the Act would completely deprive the rights of ownership and transfer of land and its resources of the native people, which was against the provision of Art. 371(A). It said the Act was draconian, rather than the law of federalism. NTC termed the Act as highly objectionable as it was at the cost of the land holding system in Nagaland. It also said the Centre would take any forest land within a radius of 100 km without any permission from the landowners and village councils. NTC alleged that the Act was passed by undermining the rights and privileges of citizens with a hidden agenda and hence was very serious in nature and unacceptable. It asserted that in a democratic country like India, land belonged to the people rather than the state as was the case in communist countries.
The council cited Article 300A of the Constitution that had the provision of “Right to property”, enumerating that “Persons not to be deprived of his property save by authority of Law”. It pointed out that Nagaland was not an exception to it.
As Act was an amendment of The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, NTC asserted that the citizens of the state were duty bound to know as to whether any correspondence was made earlier and the Applicability of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 from the state to the Central government and how far the state was serious about the protection of the constitutional provisions of Article 371(A).
The council contended that Article 371(A) was the only provision which ensured that the inherent rights of the people were shielded from the exploitation of outsiders. “Let us not attempt to rewrite the history of the state of Nagaland and the land holding system, nor tamper with it so that the future generations of the Nagas are not deprived of their fundamental rights,” the statement stressed.