Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO) Monday said it disagreed with the lone Lok Sabha MP Tokheho Yepthomi’s call for flexibility on the issue of Article 371 (A) vis-à-vis oil exploration.
NVCO through its press and media cell stated that instead of strengthening Article 371A, MP’s statement was contrary to restoration of the Resolution of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) passed on July 26, 2010 in respect of “ownership and transfer of land and its resources” including mineral oil.
In this regard, NVCO said it had submitted a representation to the Interlocutor and Governor of Nagaland RN Ravi on November 4, 2019 to take up the “eroding of Article 371A and its related matters” with the Centre. In the representation, NVCO said it had also appealed for restoring the Resolution of the NLA.
NVCO termed as “very unfortunate” that the Centre was “overriding and destroying the so called special provision ‘Article 371A’ at every turn on its own motion unilaterally.”
NVCO has appealed to the Government of India to allow the State of Nagaland to have the power to frame its own laws regarding ownership and transfer of such land and resources including mineral oil under Article 371A.
It maintained that the land and its resources including mineral oil, gas and petroleum should belong to the people of Nagaland and “no Act of Parliament shall apply to the state in this respect.”