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2 May 2023

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Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXXIII No. 144

DIMAPUR, TUESDAY, MAY 2, 2023 Pages 12 ` 5.00

Russia launches missiles at Ukraine INTERNATIONAL, PAGE 9

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RCB beat LSG by 18 runs in low-scoring game SPORTS, PAGE 12

Oil exploration only after OIL mulling exploration in Nagaland addressing pending issues: NTC

DIMAPUR/GUWAHATI, MAY 1 (NPN/AGENCIES): Despite stiff opposition from various quarters including some apex tribal bodies and the Working Committee of the NNPGs to the proposed oil exploration in areas along the Nagaland-Assam disputed boundary, there has been reports that the Oil India Limited (OIL) was planning to start exploration in Nagaland. Nagaland is projected to have 600 million tonnes of oil and natural gas reserves. According to The Economic Times report, Oil India Limited is planning to conduct a 3D seismic survey of 4,000 sq km of land in Upper Assam, while exploration in Nagaland is expected to commence when the climate is conducive. The company has also explored 3000 sq. km areas

Photo of oil spillage from an oil well site. (File)

in Nagaland. OIL has considerable potential in the Assam- Arakan fold belt and believes that both areas have the same potential, according to Dr Ranjit Rath, chairman and managing director. OIL has done seismic data accusation of the areas in the Northern bank of Brahmaputra in Assam. OIL has a 3000 sq. km area in Nagaland.

Rath, who was in Guwahati on Monday while talking to media persons said, “We already started exploration in Mizoram. Further study is going on to further explore. In Tripura we have assets and exploration is done. In the Northern bank of Brahmaputra River Pathshala and Mangaldoi are covered under Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) bidding.

We have done seismic data acquisition.” “We are carrying out exploration in Arunachal Pradesh, we have planned extensive drilling and production is going on. In Nagaland till the time there was a dispute between Assam and Nagaland that was getting sorted out. There is a lot of discussion going on. We have 3000 sq km of exploration acreage in Nagaland,” he added. Rath said, “In Manipur we are taking up baseline assessment of the areas in Nagaland border and some areas will be picked up for explorations. In Tripura we have acreages. In the North bank we will take up drilling. Rigs with over 2000 horsepower will be used”. Rath said, “Once there is a climate of sorted out issues we will immediately have started exploration. We strongly believe that both the Assam shelf where

we have the main producing area, and the Assam- Arakan fold belt which is in the South East of Assam shelf covering Nagaland has enough potential.” It may be mentioned that Assam and Nagaland chief ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma and Neiphiu Rio had agreed in principle to go ahead with oil exploration in areas along their disputed boundary for the economic benefit of both states. Sarma and Rio reached an understanding during a meeting on April 20 night, hours after Assam and Arunachal Pradesh gover nments signed an agreement to resolve their over five-decade-old border dispute. Assam and Nagaland are exploring all options to bring an end to the decadesold border imbroglio in an amicable manner, an Assam government statement said.

CM, others extend NE getting more attention from Centre: Singh Moatsu greetings D I M A P U R , M AY 1 the HoDs to ensure that the

D I M A P U R , M AY 1 (NPN): Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio, deputy CM Y. Patton and others have greeted the Ao community on the occasion of Moatsu festival. CM: Extending warm greetings, chief minister Neiphiu Rio whished that the “festivity foster oneness and brotherhood and may you all be blessed with bounteous harvest.” DyCM: In his message, deputy CM Y Patton said that the festival it is celebrated after sowing season, to make friendship, exchange gifts and feasting. Patton prayed for a bountiful harvest and blessings for their hard work done. On behalf of the state BJP legislators, Patton wished all a blessed Moatsu and hoped that it is celebrated with joy and enthusiasm. NPCC: Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) president S Supongmeren Jamir prayed that the Almighty God bestow a rich harvest upon the community, as the festival marks the end of the hard work of the sowing season and the celebrations filled with merry-making, singing, and feasting. Further, stating that Moatsü is also a time to revisit the culture and display it in the finest way to be passed down to posterity, Supongmeren prayed, “May it also be a time for fostering peace, goodwill, brotherhood and oneness across society.” (Cont’d on p-8)

This is it!

“Why do you ask how many seats we’ll win? In any case, we’re going to form the government.” K Y M C

(NPN): Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways and Civil Aviation General (Dr) VK Singh (retd) claimed that since 2014, the North East was getting more attention from the Central government and observed that connectivity had since improved in the region. H o l d i n g a r ev i ew meeting of National Highway projects in the district with Mon district administration and heads of departments (HoDs) of the district at Mon town on Monday, he called for taking development to the grassroots.

Dr. VK Singh addressing the head of departments and district administration officials in Mon.

Singh also observed that for development and quality works in the district, local contractors were far better as they had more knowledge about the district. He suggested con-

ducting entrepreneurship workshops to train people who wanted to get into such business so that they too could take up all types of contracts. The minister exhorted

government schemes were implemented properly and insisted that there should be no compromise on quality. He also the District Hospital, Mon after the meeting. Rajya Sabha member S Phangnon Konyak welcomed the minister, while HoDs of Mon district expressed gratitude to Singh for his visited to Mon in spite of his busy schedule. At the meeting, ADC (HQ) Temjennaro Longkumer gave brief description about Mon district while the programme was chaired by deputy commissioner Mon Ajit Kumar Verma.

D I M A P U R , M AY 1 (NPN): 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 re-

mained 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.

ULB polls issue: Centre seeks more time 3-day Moatsu festival begins at Mokokchung from SC to reply; next hearing on May 18 Correspondent

Spl. Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 1 (NPN): The Central government on Monday sought more time from the Supreme Court to submit its response on whether the constitutional scheme of one-third reservation for women in municipality and town council elections can be violated by Nagaland, where the assembly had passed a resolution to repeal the municipal act and resolved not to hold the elections to the urban local bodies (ULB).

A bench of Justices SK Kaul and Aravind Kumar had on April 17 granted two week’s time to additional solicitor general KM Nataraj, who was appearing for the Centre, to place their stand on record and listed the matter for May 1. In a series of tweet on Monday, the Bar & Bench said that Nataraj had sought adjournment as the reply was not filed. However, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioners, said: “How can they continue being in contempt. Constitutional provisions are

applicable to entire northeast as well.” Nataraj had informed the court that an inter-ministerial discussion was on and therefore sought further time to file the affidavit. The court accordingly listed the matter for May 18, Bar & Bench said. Earlier, during the hearing advocate general Nagaland KN Balgopal explained the genesis of the case and informed the court that they had to consider customary laws. However, the apex court said “You are in breach. We gave you the longest rope.”

MOKOKCHUNG, MAY 1 (NPN): The celebration of Moatsu festival, the premier festival of the Ao Nagas, got underway at the Imkongmeren Sports Complex here on Monday. The festival is being held on the theme ‘Celebrating our Roots’ and organised by the Ao Senden with the collective celebration initiated by the Government of Nagaland. The three-day festival kickstarted with legislator Nuklutoshi gracing the inaugural event as the guest of honour in lieu of Water Resources adviser Tongpang Ozukum, who

Nuklutoshi (NP)

could not make it due to some official works. Addressing the gathering, Nuklutoshi stressed on unity among the people. Without unity, he cautioned that the future would be bleak. He said the 11 Ao legislators had recently come together and resolved to remain united across party

lines and called upon the Aos led by the Ao Senden to follow suit. He recalled how the forefathers of Nagas had celebrated such festivals to foster unity amongst neighbours and maintain brotherhood. He called upon the Aos to stand united for survival as, according to him, there was no future if there was no unity. Touching on the Naga political issue, he said the vexed issue should be solved at the earliest. He feared that the longer it lingered, worse things could happen. He therefore urged all the stakeholders to give a serious thought on this issue.

Earlier, DC Mokokchung S Pratap Singh extended the Moatsu greetings. The programme was followed by inter-ward indigenous games competitions that included tug-of-war (both men and women), pole climbing and bamboos tilt walking. In the pole climbing competition, Alempang ward emerged as the champion while Kumlong ward earned the second position. In the bamboo stilt walking competition, Alempang ward bagged the first prize and Yimyu ward second. On Tuesday (the main celebration) chief minister Neiphiu Rio will grace the programme as special guest.

NPCC backs issues raised by Jamir; slams NDPP youth for insinuation SC rules it has discretion to D I M A P U R , M AY 1 (NPN): Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPPC) has come out in support of various issues raised during recent months by veteran Naga leader and former chief minister and governor Dr. S.C. Jamir and against the “unwarranted insinuation” by NDPP youth wing on his reputation. NPCC communications department made it clear that it was not responding on behalf of Dr. Jamir since his views and observations are “facts that speak for themselves” . Further, it also maintained that if Dr. Jamir’s observations, based on his rich political and ad-

ministrative experience of over 60 years “was unpalatable to some section, then he cannot be faulted for that.” NPCC said Dr Jamir is the founding father of Nagaland and well known across India, having served with India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru then Indira Gandhi under various positions. It also pointed out that, despite different political ideologies, even prime minister Narendra Modi has shown high regard to Dr. Jamir for his outstanding contributions to the nation. NPCC also maintained that Dr. Jamir’s views are also common knowledge with people of Nagaland

over the issue of perpetration of economic hegemony and confusion and drift taking place today. It sated that Dr. Jamir and former NPCC president K. Therie, are among the few leaders who choose to speak openly and without ambiguity. NPCC said the ruling NDPP government has much to answer for failed promises made since 2003 such as – Naga political solution within three months of coming to power; abdicating its constitutional authority which have legitimised various extra constitutional authorities. According to NPCC, the sum total of the the party which

“untiringly parrots itself as a pro-people movement” is earning the state the dubious distinction as “ the worst performing state overall in India in 2021.” The list of failures of the party in power included messing up with oil exploration, not acting on the recommendation on RIIN and also the HPC report on multiple taxation. However, NPCC said the only decisive action which the government took is with regard to construction of multi-crore rupee projects which only benefit a privileged few, close to the powers that be. Instead of responding to Dr. Jamir’s comments,

NPCC said NDPP has abdicated the responsibility and outsourced it to its youth wing to make “vitriolic and sweeping statements” against an elder and respected personality. NPCC said abdication of responsibility by NDPP including governance has become its hallmark. It advised NDPP youth wing to understand that “things are not going right” and that as future leaders, the youth wing ought to be concerned with the “current mess created by leaders who are seeped up with filthy riches and practising nepotism and favouritism”.

dissolve marriage under Art 142

NEW DELHI, MAY 1 (PTI): Supreme Court held on Monday it has the discretion to dissolve a marriage on the ground of “irretrievable breakdown” in exercise of its plenary power under Article 142 (1) of the Constitution and can grant divorce by mutual consent while dispensing with the 6-month waiting period mandated under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Article 142 of the Constitution deals with enforcement of decrees and orders of the apex court to do “complete justice” in any (Cont’d on p-8) matter pending before it. As

per Article 142(1), a decree passed or an order made by the apex court is executable throughout the territory of India. Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act deals with divorce by mutual consent and sub-section (2) to this provision provides, after the first motion has been passed, the parties would have to move the court with the second motion, if the petition is not withdrawn in the meanwhile, after six months and not later than 18 months of the first motion. (Read more on p-7) K Y M C


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2 May 2023 by Nagaland Post - Issuu