Dr. Rosemary Dzuvichu, Advisor, NMA
Madam Chair, Respected Leaders,
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he explanations being given today by the Government seems to be demeaning this Assembly Resolution which has been passed. As far as the NMA is concerned we have taken the Assembly Resolution very seriously because we have seen resolutions turn into laws. The Naga Mothers’ Association held a consultation with all its tribe women units on the 5th September, 2014 and further consultations with academics, activists and women legal experts on the Nagaland Legislative Assembly Resolution for setting up the Nagaland Special Development Zones along the foothills of the State, adopted and passed in the Assembly. Therefore this is the stand of the NMA on the NSDZ:1. At the outset, the NMA questions the Honourable Legislators whether they are aware of the impact the Resolution will have on our children’s future, because some of the clauses of the Resolutions V,VI and VII are in direct contravention of the Article 371(A) of the Constitution of India and the people’s rights and ownership over land and resources. Therefore the reasons cited in the brief explanatory write up on the NSDZ by the State Government is using our children –the youth, as an excuse to justify such arbitrary resolutions.
2. The Resolution seems to convey that development of traditional hill areas is not conducive and problematic and hence the attention for the foothills. Is this the reason for total negligence of our roads, lack of basic amenities , water, health , electricity , communication facilities , lack of encouragement of local business and markets by the State Government ? The NMA is of the considered opinion that all sections of our land, whether hills or foothills must be equitably developed, irrespective of constraints and hurdles as mentioned in the brief write up of the State Government.
3. That any review of the State Laws/orders instructions must be done keeping the interest and inalienable traditional rights of the people over land and resources in mind.
4. While the NMA supports constructive initiatives for development, it is unanimous, that as women and mothers we are against evolving a system of permanent settlement for Non-Nagas whether as investors or labour and permanent residency would encourage decimation of the poor local people, besides open up floodgates for serious gender concerns in the wake of any development.
5. Relaxation of ILP, liberalisation of the system of entry and stay of non-Nagas for the purpose of investment will compound the existing problems of illegal immigrants, besides giant MNCS taking over the extraction of resources and beneficiaries will be a few Capitalists and not the youth for whom the NSDZ is being used as an excuse.
6. The NMA places on record that as women form half of the State’s population too, inclusion of representatives nominated by the apex bodies including the NMA must be considered for the High Powered Committee on NSDZ. That whether in review of State laws or re-organisation of the Nagaland State Industrial Policy, the inclusion of the gender perspective must be taken into account for gender equity, sustainable and participatory development.
Nagaland Investment Board Bill, 2014
The draft of the Nagaland Investment Board Bill, 2014 is an ambitious master plan for investment policies and development action plans to create a strong economy in the State..The NIB must take into cognizance, concerns and recommendations already cited for the NSDZ as the two are closely connected.
The NMA is of the considered onion that under Clause 4: Roles and Responsibilities the NIB must involve local expertise from the pool of experts in the University for analysis, research technical guidance and capacity development including development of action plans for the State.
The NMA recommends inclusion of public nominees, nominated by the mass based organisations, including women in the Nagaland Investment Board and the Task Force to ensure accountability of people centric and gender sensitive development plans and participatory development. It must be noted by the Government that these organisations are not a conglomeration of illiterate villagers, but highly intellectual and well versed educated leaders. Therefore, the Questionaire circulated to us cannot be answered in a simple Yes or no. In keeping with the guidelines of sustainable participatory development, the Government must consider inclusion of the same in the NIB and the Task Force.
The Investment Plans must also keep the special provisions of Article 371(A) – people’s inalienable rights over land and resources in all its plans and strategies.
Advisor, Naga Mothers’ Association on 16th September,2014, Consultative meeting on NSDZ, NIB and NLTP Act.
