After deliberating on oil exploration at a meeting of its executive council and advisers in Dimapur on April 25, the Nagaland Tribes Council (NTC) has decided to make public its stand on the issue.
NTC media cell expressed concern on news reports on April 22, about chief ministers- Neiphiu Rio(Nagaland) and Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam) agreeing in principle for oil exploration along disputed areas “along dubious borderline of two sisterly states.”
Acknowledging the good intent of the State government to maintain good relations with neighbouring States, NTC however said that Nagaland government was not subordinate to any other State government in the country, including Assam. So also the chief minister of Nagaland.
The council wondered why Nagaland chief minister rushed to his Assam counterpart and “agreed in principle to go ahead with oil exploration in areas along their disputed boundaries ….” without the consent of stakeholders, thus confirming as disputed border area by the State itself. It said there was always a mechanism to resolve differences, provided the government took care of the welfare of the State in general and the people in particular and live in understanding so that peaceful atmosphere prevailed.
NTC said while Nagaland was endowed by Almighty God with rich mineral wealth, it could however not explore the huge mineral deposits and resources for making the State self-sufficient due to one or other reasons. It said one such known hurdle was the boundary and border problems on the Assam side.
NTC said that Nagaland always maintained peace on the border but on the contrary, Assam always created problem along the “artificial boundary line” and continued to annex Naga land. As a matter of fact, NTC claimed that, on the basis of the 1875 boundary demarcation of Naga Hills district of Assam, the historical and traditional/ancestral boundary of Nagaland went far beyond the present claim of Assam and therefore, called for reclaiming the lands immediately.
NTC also referred to point no. 12 of the 16-Point Agreement of 1960: “The Naga delegation discussed the question of the inclusion of the Reserved Forests and of contiguous areas inhabited by Nagas. They were referred to the provisions in Article 3 and 4 of the Constitution, prescribing the procedure for the transfer of areas from one state to another”.
In this regard, NTC pointed out that reserved forest means the Naga reserved forest which were transferred to Assam for administrative convenience. It also said that “Agreement between GoI and the Naga people of Nagaland is Agreement”.
NTC lamented that the historical records and the hard-earned 16-Point Agreement of 1960 remained in cold storage for the last 60 years. NTC said once this was resolve, Nagaland could conveniently go for exploration of natural resources, including oil, without any hindrance. It said there cannot be a State without definite territory of land.
According to NTC , the second major hurdle was the defective Nagaland Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulations, 2012 and Nagaland Petroleum & Natural Gas Rules, 2012 (NP&NG). NTC noted that in the rules, the rights, privileges and revenue sharing for the beneficiaries, including that of employment of the affected land owner/areas and block had been deprived. Therefore, when the cry of the people were not heeded to for rectification, the Lotha Hoho , being the first affected tribe, filed a PIL in the Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench.
The State government persuaded the Lotha Hoho to withdraw the PIL and then signed MoU on November 20, 2018 that the grievances of the hoho would be amended within six months. However that has not happened and also the matter became a suo moto case in the Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench, but was lying unresolved till today.
NTC said it would be better if the State government pursued the case in the high court before any other ultra-vires came in, and finalise the case and amend the defective rules and regulations before any wishful thinking for oil exploration.
Oil exploration only after addressing pending issues: NTC
