EMN
Dimapur, October 25
The Nagaland Tribes Council lauded the bold initiative taken by Lotha Hoho in filing PIL challenging constitutional validity of the Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulations, 2012 and Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2012.
The PIL further challenged the impugned permit (dated 28.02.2014) issued in favour of the controversial company Metropolitan Oil & Gas Private Limited (MOGPL) for mixed operations of petroleum and natural gas in respect of Wokha district at Zone No. NL-OG-10W-M.
A statement issued by Media Cell, NTC said, “The State government lobbying against the PIL and trying to pursue the civil bodies to go against the PIL and appeal the Lotha Hoho to withdraw its PIL is seen as subversive action. It is imperative for the citizens to seek judicial review to rectify the discrepancies and anomalies if any in the P&NG Rules and Regulation, 2012 so that laws will be interpreted in the right perspective and justice will be delivered to the deserving land owners.”
“The article 371A gives among others the absolute ownership and transfer of land and its resources to the indigenous tribals of the State. The Land and its resources belong to the private and individuals and government cannot become land owner. The claim of the State to be the land owner infringes the right of the citizens and contravenes the provisions of article 371A.”
The NTC also maintained that neither the government nor civil bodies can claim ownership of land and its resources or share revenue at random.
The council asserted that the revenue should directly go to the State treasury. “The government on behalf of the citizens of the State should negotiate with the land owners in matters of royalty, compensation and other pecuniary benefits due to the land owners before taking any steps for operational activities with clear provisions stipulated in the P&NG Rules and Regulation and towards these, the aggrieve party seeking the intervention of the court is legitimate and simply claiming what is guaranteed in the article 371A.”
The NTC urged the State government to desist from subversive activities and seriously engage in the case as responsible respondent to the petition with relevant documents and laws before the court for end of justice.
