Naga political issue remains top agenda of government — CM R
Naga political issue remains top agenda of government — CM Rio
Dr. Neiphiu Rio on Tuesday took on several key issues confronting the state, including the prolonged Naga political issue, integration of Naga-contiguous area, rationalisation of teachers, Trans Nagaland Highway and reservation policy, among others.
Neiphiu Rio presenting government bills during the 6th
session of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
KOHIMA — Chief
Minister Dr. Neiphiu Rio on Tuesday took on several key issues confronting the
state, including the prolonged Naga political issue, integration of
Naga-contiguous area, rationalisation of teachers, Trans Nagaland Highway and
reservation policy, among others.
Summing up the debate on the motion of thanks to the
Governor’s address on the second day of the ongoing 14th Naga Legislative
Assembly, the chief minister affirmed that the Naga political issue still
remains the number one agenda of his government.
Noting that the Naga political solution is a serious concern
for the Naga people, Rio assured that further discussion and consultation will
take place.
“We want Government of India to be more sincere towards the
Naga political issue,” he said and added that GoI representatives have been
coming to Nagaland lately, holding discussions with various Naga groups, NGOs
and individuals.
Rio also disclosed that he and his cabinet colleagues will
meet the Union Home Minister in the coming days to discuss about the Naga issue
after consultation with the Naga political groups.
“We are seriously concerned that we cannot continue in a
stalemate like this. It is the desire of the Naga people that at the earliest,
solution which is honourable, inclusive and acceptable to the people comes
about,” he asserted.
He also said that bringing Nagaland state again under the
External Affairs Ministry as per the ‘16-Point Agreement’ needs to be
deliberated in the parliamentary committees, inside the house or in the
committees.
It is unclear how many times the NLA has adopted resolutions
in support of integration of Naga contiguous area. However, he said eight
resolutions were adopted on the matter, including on Dec. 12, 1962; Aug. 28,
1970; Sep. 16, 1994; Dec. 8, 2003; July 5, 2015; Sep. 20, 2018; Feb. 18, 2021,
and Aug. 3, 2021.
On the rationalisation of teachers, the chief minister
appreciated the Department of School Education for taking up the exercise while
assuring to “correct the wrongs” that were done in the past.
With the rationalisation of over 1500 teachers across
Nagaland kept on hold, Rio suggested that a district level verification, in
consultation with the respective elected members and department officials, be
carried out.
In this way, the exercise can do more justice to the people,
he said.
Over the years “many mistakes” have been committed leaving
the education system in a mess today, he said and urged all concerned to “try
to correct the wrongs” of the past.
He explained that over the years the School Education
department did not have qualified people, particularly in ENPO areas, and so
rationalisation exercises for transferring teachers to needed schools had to be
undertaken.
He maintained that the Census 2001 is the “culprit messing
up in all systems including school education.”The Census 2001 put Nagaland population at 19.90 lakh. However, the 2011
Census put the state’s population 19.79 lakh.
This means the state’s decadal growth rate was negative,
becoming the only state in the country with a negative growth rate.
The Right to Education was enacted in 2009 wherein primary
schools can be opened according to the population, upgrade of primary school to
middle school or middle school to high school, he informed.
Accordingly, so many teachers were appointed and
student-teacher ratio became 7:1, which is much higher than the national
average of 30:1.
Today, the state has about 19,000 teachers against the
requirement of less than 10,000. That is why schools have to be closed down and
teachers re- deployed, Rio added.
Reservation policy
On the reservation policy, the chief minister said that
re-visitation would be done only after the next census. He urged all to be
mentally prepared for the upcoming census, which will be followed by
delimitation.
Rio informed that the next census will call for a
comprehensive review of the reservation policy, determining who should be
included in or excluded from the backward reservation quota.
All these will be thoroughly studied, he said and added that
reservation should not be based on tribes but on the economic or educationally
status.
Sports in Nagaland
In sports, Rio said that although Nagas have talent, they
need to cultivate discipline, determination, and commitment. He noted that the
Naga movement and political issue have not given much time for sports
activities or opportunities to the youth in the state.
Only in 2004, after 41 years of statehood, Nagaland got
affiliated to the Indian Olympic Association and started participating in
national games.
Nagaland will be shortly hosting belt wrestling championship
in Kohima and during this event, Naga-style wrestling and women’s wrestling
will also be held, he said.
The chief minister also encouraged the people to come
forward, witness and support the ongoing Nagaland Super League football
matches.
Further, in a year or two, Rio informed that astro turf football
pitches with high-mass light will be targeted in all the districts.
On Geology and Mining, he said Nagaland has rich oil gas and
mineral deposit, which would help the state to generate huge revenue.The state has also requested revenue gap
grant of over INR 10,000 crore from the 16th Finance Commission.
