On the last day of the fourth session of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA), the ministers in-charge of various departments responded to several starred question raised by members of the house.
Status of Foothill Road: Replying to the query raised by NPP legislator, A. Nyamnyie Konyak regarding the status of the Foothill road, minister PWD (Roads & Bridges), G. Kaito Aye said that the earthwork in formation cutting and embankment of 128 km (single lane road configuration) from Dimapur to Tizit along with one RCC Bridge near Governor’s Camp has been completed. He further informed that the project cannot come under NEC as the project amount is too high for NEC to bear. He however expressed his gratitude to the Chief Minister for allotting an amount of Rs. 148.50 crores out of the State Fund from the budget towards the project.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio also supplemented the reply by saying that the Foothill Road project is a concern for the whole State and that his government is fully committed towards making the foothill road functional at the earliest and would work towards bringing more funds from the center. Rio also informed that he would have a consultative meeting with the officials of the concerned department along with the elected members of the areas under which the road passes through to deliberate on how best to move forward with respect to the construction of the road as well as the utilization of the funds allotted.
On the starred question raised by NPP MLA, Nuklutoshi on the construction of road from Tuli to Niuland NH 61 (2) via Longchem – Champang – Governor’s Camp under SARDP – NE Phase – B, deputy CM and minister in-charge for National Highway TR Zeliang said that an amount of Rs. 1,43,43,000 had been sanctioned for the said project by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He said that the Centre had suggested the state government to apply for the given project under PM Gati Shakti Scheme and not under SARDP.
He added that the state was now pursuing the sanction for the project under PM Gadi Shakti Scheme and for early sanction for the given project while also finding other avenues for the funding mechanism.
On the question of completing the project by identifying and focusing the bottlenecks raised by the minister, Nuklutoshi suggested to rather work systematically on completion of the project and appealed to all the BJP legislators hailing from Foothill Project areas to make a special effort to pursue the government at the center.
Status of power supply: NPF legislator Kuzholuzo Nienu advocated for the use of thermal and solar energy to address the power shortage in the state.
During a discussion on the status of power supply, Nienu suggested that these sources should be explored.
In response to the starred question, the minister in charge, KG Kenye revealed that the peak demand was 180MW, while the state’s generation during the monsoon is 21MW and the average generation during the lean season is 7MW. Moreover, the state-owned hydroelectric projects currently generate a maximum of 6-7MW for 10 hours. The Minister also acknowledged that the average shortfall ranges from 14.1MW to 60.5MW.
Explaining the cause of the erratic power supply, the Minister in charge noted that the average availability of power from inter-state generating stations and state-owned generation stations is only 138MW during the monsoon and 110MW during the lean season. This is significantly lower than the peak demand. Additionally, hydro generating stations are unable to meet their full potential during the lean hydro season (December to April), and several thermal power stations in the region undergo shutdowns for maintenance, reducing the central sector allocation for the state.
The Minister also highlighted inadequate infrastructure in transmission and distribution systems as a contributing factor to the power supply issues. Outdated and overloaded transmission and distribution infrastructure further exacerbate the problem of erratic power supply in the state.
Coal mining: Responding to a query by NPF legislator Achumbemo Kikon on the terms of references for issuing Coal Mining License in the State, chief minister & minister-in-charge, Neiphiu Rio, provided the list of 10 (ten) documents required for obtaining CML.
Kikon, taking part in the discussion, said that the required conditions were not fulfilled and illegal mining has become rampant in many parts of the state, which calls for proper scientific mining methods and stringent regulations by the government. He also questioned the low revenue generation from coal mining and the huge revenue gap between 2022-2023 and 2023-2024. The revenue generated by the Department out of the coal mining in the State was reported as Rs. 9,91,82,730/- during 2022-2023 and Rs. 3,41,42,645/- during 2023-2024.
Deputy chief minister T.R. Zeliang, cited the high sulphur content of coal from Nagaland which makes it low quality with less profitability. The limited import of coal imposed by the Ministry of Coal led to increase in demand for coal from Nagaland, which added substantial revenue to the state exchequer in 2022-2023, he said.
The General Election in January 2024 in Bangladesh, which is a major consumer country of Nagaland coal, and the subsequent availability of cheaper imported coal from the US and Indonesia led to decrease in demand for Nagaland coal and decline in the revenue generation during 2023-2024, he added. However, the demand for Nagaland coal at both the domestic and export markets are expected to rise, he said.
Minister of Tourism and Higher Education, Temjen Imna Along suggested the establishment of government authorized depots, issuing of license to capital-backed miners only and advance GST bookings to curb non-repayment of GST and preventing exploitation of people and coal resources in the state. He also suggested the department to initiate capacity building for judicious and maximum profitability of coal mining in the state.
NPP member Nuklutoshi said that 45 licenses have been issued legally but the mining operation is being done illegally and hazardously. He suggested bringing in big companies who can ensure proper and ethical mining for the benefit of the people and the state.
Deputy CM, T. R. Zeliang reiterated that license holders are prohibited from extracting coal through open cast mining and should follow government guidelines.
He said that any discrepancies would be verified by expert team and local MLAs will be invited during the verification process, corrective measures then will be taken accordingly, he said. He also mentioned that designated depots are in operation since 2014 and royalty is to be paid through challans while coal is to be transported through transit pass.
Recruitment in Home department: Responding to a starred question by NPF member Kuzholuzo Nienu regarding recruitment of constables under Home Department, deputy chief minister (Home), Y Patton confirmed that the recruitment of constables would be carried out through open recruitment. He provided detailed information regarding the categories of posts, the number of posts to be advertised, and the eligibility criteria.
The constable recruitment will include the following categories of posts: Constable (GD), Constable (MT), and Constable (NPTO). While the total number of posts to be advertised in each category is yet to be finalized, the process is currently underway.
Patton mentioned that the eligibility criteria for the recruitment will include the following factors– candidates must be between 18 to 35 years old. However, there will be a one-time relaxation of age by 3 years, allowing candidates up to 38 years old as of January 22nd, 2024.
Candidates from the general category must have passed Class VIII, while candidates from backward tribes must have passed Class VI. Under physical/medical Standards, the Minister said that candidates will be required to meet the predetermined standards and norms set by the Department.
Furthermore, Patton clarified that the recruitment would not be based on the existing reservation policy but on tribal quotas as per the population ratio.
The announcement of open recruitment for constables in the Home department comes as a positive development, providing opportunities for individuals in Nagaland to join the police force. As the recruitment process progresses, the Minister urged the interested candidates to stay updated with the official announcements and fulfill the necessary eligibility criteria to be considered for the positions.