Who gets Nagaland’s oil wealth? Sümi body demands transparency

DIMAPUR — As Nagaland moves to restart oil and natural gas exploration, the Western Sümi Area Oil & Natural Resources Committee (WSAONRC) has sought greater clarity on the agreements being signed, the state’s share of revenue and safeguards for Naga ownership rights over land and its resources.

In a press release, the committee—formed under the Western Sümi Hoho (WSH)—informed that it had made the demands in a representation to the chief minister on the state government’s ongoing efforts to explore and extract oil and natural gas.

While welcoming the government’s initiative, the committee has asked that all memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed for oil and gas exploration or extraction be made public.

It has also sought details of the revenue-sharing arrangement in the Disputed Area Belt (DAB), pointing to what it described as a wide gap in the revenues generated from the area.

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The committee claimed that Assam received INR 9,903.63 crore as its state share from eight drilling points in the DAB between 2017 and 2022. It has therefore asked Nagaland government to spell out the revenue-sharing mechanism worked out by the state and clarify whether Nagaland has received its “rightful share”.

The WSAONRC has further proposed setting up an oil refinery and gas processing plant at Niuland and Ganeshnagar. It suggested that local processing facilities could create jobs and bring greater economic benefits to the area.

On constitutional safeguards, the committee urged the government to ensure that oil and natural gas exploration complies with Article 371A, particularly provisions relating to Naga ownership and rights over land and its resources.