Maova land issue: CPO seeks state govt’s intervention

Chakhroma Public Organisation (CPO) has sought the intervention of the state government to the ongoing issue with Maova village, saying the current crisis was due to government’s failure to enforce its own administrative orders.
In a representation addressed to the state chief secretary, CPO president Zhato Kimho and vice president Sebastian Zumvu highlighted how Maova village council (MVC) failed to comply with orders and agreements. They alleged the MVC had restricted property owners from developing land and engaged in acts of intimidation despite multiple administrative warnings.
CPO noted that while Maova and the CPO have maintained a “father-son relationship” for decades, the situation deteriorated last year. Following complaints of illegal structures being erected on private property, the CPO said it served a notice on December 2, 2025, for their removal. After the deadline passed without a response, a February 13, 2026, meeting turned violent.
CPO leaders alleged their negotiating party was met with “stones and batons” by “Kuki miscreants.” The resulting scuffle left EAC Medziphema and a police officer injured and caused property damage.
The organisation said the issue centred on the payment of a nominal token tax, a requirement under Angami customary practice for villages permitted to settle within Chakhroma jurisdiction.
According to CPO, historical records show Maova was granted settlement in 1933 as a tenant village under Punglwa, with ownership later transferred to Tsüüma Village in 1975.
CPO cited two specific legal orders that Maova has allegedly ignored: March 3, 1981, judgment by then-ADC Peren S. Lima Aier and April 19, 2010, order by then-DC Dimapur Maong Aier directing Maova to pay an annual tax of 5 rupees to Tsüüma Village.
CPO claimed Maova previously agreed to pay the tax to the CPO instead of Tsüüma Village but later complicated negotiations by demanding the transfer of a forest area belonging to Tsüüma—a condition the CPO rejected as “unreasonable.”
CPO further accused the MVC of acting beyond its legal jurisdiction in violation of the Nagaland Village and Area Councils Act of 1978. CPO pointed to a June 2018 resolution by the MVC that restricted land development, which was later overturned by a DB Court judgment in November 2021.
“The current crisis is a direct consequence of the government’s failure to enforce its own administrative orders,” the CPO stated. The organization argued that the state’s current approach treated the standoff as a simple law-and-order issue, ignoring the underlying violations of Angami Customary Law.
CPO maintained that all actions taken, including a customary banishment order issued by the Chakhroma Youth Organisation (CYO), were in accordance with traditional laws governing ancestral lands.
Therefore, CPO has urged the state government to ensure Maova village adhere to historical orders and pay the nominal token tax in recognition of traditional land ownership.
It also demanded that the government review the status of MVC for repeated violations of the Nagaland Village and Area Councils Act (Nagaland Village and Tribal Council Act 1978).
Further, CPO demanded the government to ensure that state security forces did not inadvertently suppress indigenous customary rights.
CPO warned that if the village remained unchecked, it would continue to disregard government orders. CPO has called upon the state government to recognise the gravity of the matter and ensure that their traditional practices and customary laws were honoured and upheld.