Dimapur, June 3: State chief minister, TR Zeliang, today expounded on the importance of Article 371 A of the Constitution of India saying that Nagaland is most fortunate to have specific mention in the Constitution about protection of the traditions, cultures and religious practices of the Nagas and more importantly, assurance of ownership of the land and its resources.
Interacting with a delegation of the Central Naga Tribes Council (CNTC) led by its president, Hokiye Yeptho, this morning at his office chambers, the chief minister pointed out that Nagaland is the only State in the Union of India which owns not only the land but also the resources of the land and that States which were formed after Nagaland did not enjoy this status even though the States owned the land.
A CMO statement said the chief minister mentioned the case of Mizoram which enjoys special provisions under Article 371 G of the Constitution wherein it was mentioned about “ownership and transfer of the land,” and not about owning the resources contained therein.
Ruing that the people of Nagaland did not protest against the unilateral violation of some important points of the 16-Point Agreement of 1960 by the Government of India such as placement of the State of Nagaland under Home Ministry from the Ministry of External Affairs as contained in Point number 2 of the Agreement, and the financial assistance to the State from the Consolidated Fund as mentioned in Point number 11 of the Agreement which was never kept, the chief minister said the people should now be more aware of their rights and how to protect them.
Zeliang apprised the CNTC leaders about the tussle which went on between the Ministry of Petroleum, Government of India, and the State Government over exploration and extraction of petroleum and natural gas in the State.
“Whereas the Ministry of Petroleum had said that it was unconstitutional for the State Government to frame our own Rules & Regulations on Petroleum and Natural Gas quoting the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act 1948, we argued that the 13th Amendment of the Co0nstitution of India, December 1963 by which Article 371 A was inserted into the Constitution and Statehood for
Nagaland was created, had, in effect, over-ruled the 1948 Act,” Zeliang pointed out.
The chief minister also reminded the leaders that he had written to the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, last September after the Ministry put up for auction of two oil blocks in Nagaland decrying the decision.
“It appears from these reports that there are a few Oil Blocks located in Nagaland which are included in this list of 69
oil fields to be opened for competitive bidding,” Zeliang said. He further reminded that the State has framed the Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulations 2012 and the Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules 2012 in accordance with Article 371-A(1) (a) of the Constitution of India.
Under these Rules and Regulations, the Government of Nagaland has already invited Expressions of Interest from interested oil companies and is in the process of allocating the oil blocks in Nagaland. In view of this, it is felt that opening up oil fields located within Nagaland to competitive bidding by the Government of India is not appropriate,” the Chief Minister had said.
He also said such a decision by the Government of India at this juncture would have an “adverse impact on the on-going peace negotiations to resolve the Naga political issue, which is in an advanced stage now.”
He said a clear definition of the subject matter relating to ownership of land and its resources in Nagaland as
mentioned in Article 371 A of the Constitution of India is one of the key issues to be resolved in the Naga political dialogues.
“In view of the above, I would request you to kindly consider the matter and exclude the oil blocks in Nagaland from the purview of the proposed competitive bidding. Accordingly, the matter was kept in abeyance with the arguments of the State government being seriously scrutinised by the Government of India.
However, the Chief Minister rued that a tribal Hoho had filed a PIL in the
Court and the matter was shifted to the legal arena where the State government’s efforts to carry out oil exploration and extraction had been stalled.
“If we can’t fight for, protect what is legally ours today in our lifetime, future Naga generations will curse us,” he said and requested the leaders from the three major Naga tribes, namely, Ao Naga tribe, Lotha Naga tribe and Sumi Naga tribe, to create awareness about the negative ramifications the PIL would have on the land and resources which belong to the Naga people.
