EMN
Dimapur, June 6
The government of Nagaland has been given a strong warning that it should not shift the administrative headquarters’ complex of Dimapur district from the town to Chumukedima. The opposition from Dimapur’s urban populations to the proposal to shift the administrative headquarters appears to be picking up momentum with a Dimapur organization making clear on Saturday that the state was committing a mistake.
Calling the move a violation of the rights of Dimapur’s citizens, the Dimapur District Citizens’ Forum issued a statement on Saturday, June 6, on behalf of organizations in Dimapur who have resolved to fight the government’s decision. The communities of the revenue town met on June 4.The public organizations have warned that the commercial town’s communities will “come out to the streets” to exercise their right to opposition if the government fails to come out with a clear decision honoring the demands of the public.
The representation also stated a listed of public organizations and members who attended a public meeting that brought about the decision to oppose the government’s ‘detrimental act’. The statement was addressed to the chief minister of Nagaland.
“Referring to our earlier representations and in the premises above mentioned, as an ultimate representation, we herein fervently appeal to your esteemed authority that the government may kindly come out with a clear decision conceding to the public interest, and in the event of the government continuing to act against public interest, the public in Dimapur shall be compelled to come out to the streets after expiry of one week from today to demonstrate protest against detrimental act of the state government,” the statement from the forum said.
The organizations lamented that the citizens of Dimapur, through their various collective bodies, had expressed resentment against the Nagaland government’s decision to shift public offices from Dimapur to Chumukedima village.
“However, regardless of the legitimate rights of the public to retain public offices headed by the deputy commissioner’s office within the revenue area of Dimapur, recently the government has directed for shifting of public utility offices from Dimapur to Chumukedima village,” the statement said.
The organizations stated in the representation: “Besides various reasons stated in our earlier representation, it is highly pertinent to mention that the DC office in Dimapur is located strategically near the so claimed border with Assam, and the moment such if such public office is shifted away from nearby the border with Assam, it will cause a serious negative impact on the border disputes and to the utmost detriment to the inherent rights of the citizens of Dimapur in particular and the Nagas in general”.
The public representatives expressed anger that the government wanted to administrate Dimapur municipality and its suburban areas from a place based in a “far flung village area”. Such an arrangement is a ‘serious case of violation of our legitimate rights’, the statement said, “Which we shall not allow to remain subdued”.
The frontal public organizations who attended the June 4 meeting in Dimapur have unanimously resolved to stand “united to protect our legitimate rights against shifting away any public office from Dimapur to Chumukedima village”.
“Hence, we feel highly constrained to bring it to your considerate appraisal of the situation that in the event the government resorted to act against public interest, we shall be compelled to take recourse of all legitimate means of demonstrations to protest against the state government for the action initiated against public interest,” the representation added.
It also referred to a recent publication in the local newspapers by the Chakhro Public Organization which had ‘rightly suggested posting of some administrative authorities in Chumukedima equivalent to that of the DC in Dimapur’.
In “our honest view”, the representation added, “suggestions to the government tendered as such are highly appreciated and we fully endorse to it being entirely on public interest”.
