A meeting held on 11 November 2023 at the ADC Bhandari Conference Hall regarding the Nagaland Special Development Zone (NSDZ) has been deemed unsuccessful. The meeting was chaired by EAC Bhandari.
Initiating the meeting, the chair highlighted the purpose of the meeting and delved on some key points on NSDZ. It was at this point that the members present objected to the meeting.
An official statement by the office of the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Bhandari, Wokha said that the leaders of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), village council chairmen, and GBs present “strongly objected to the meeting and hence no further discussion could be held.”
The statement emphasized their adamant refusal to participate in any NSDZ-related meetings. “The members present were of the strong view that they could not be part of any NSDZ-meetings,” it said.
It was also mentioned that meeting attendance records could not be obtained due to the refusal by those present.
The controversy behind Nagaland Special Development Zone (NSDZs)
The year 2014 marked a significant juncture as the State Assembly passed a resolution on March 24 of that year, paving the way for the establishment of Nagaland Special Development Zones (NSDZs) along the foothill areas of the state. What began as an ambitious initiative to foster development in these areas unfolded into a complex issue of identity, land rights, and divergent visions.
Following the resolution, a ministerial committee, chaired by then Chief Minister TR Zeliang, was formed on April 15, 2014. This committee, armed with the authority to review existing state laws, orders, and instructions, aimed to reshape the legal landscape to make the NSDZ project not only viable but also effective.
Central to the committee’s agenda was the liberalization of NSDZs. The Nagaland State Industrial Policy faced a paradigm shift to welcome non-Nagas and other investors into these zones.
Simultaneously, a comprehensive Master Plan for NSDZs was envisioned, with the committee vested with the power to instruct all departments to align their annual plans with this overarching vision.
A crucial aspect of this undertaking was the exploration of mechanisms for cadastral surveys within NSDZ areas. The committee sought to establish a system for registering land ownership and issuing patta. It would evolve a system of permanent settlement for non-Nagas for the purposes of investment in the NSDZs in the form of special land access permits to be issued by the State Government in this behalf while also liberalize the system of entry and stay of non-Nagas in the NSDZs for the purposes of investment.
However, when the Concept Note, encapsulating these transformative aspirations, was revealed, it met with resistance from civil society organizations (CSOs). Five specific clauses under Serial No. 10 of the Concept Note triggered a contentious debate. They included restructuring the land tenure system through intensive cadastral surveys, introducing title and ownership deeds, regulating land tenure to facilitate legal ownership and transfers, relaxing existing tribal land ownership systems, and potentially relaxing the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system within NSDZs.
The tribal Hohos and CSOs, prominently the Nagaland Tribal Council (NTC), vehemently objected to these clauses. Their concerns coalesced around the fear that the enforcement of ILP and the Nagaland Land (Amendment) Act of 1978 would be compromised within NSDZs. The potential consequence, as perceived by these organizations, was a breach of Article 371-A, potentially allowing outsiders to settle permanently in the vast plain foothill sectors.
This clash of visions reached its zenith at a public rally held in Wokha on August 30, 2014. Here, the NTC and tribal CSOs adopted two resolutions. The first sought to nullify the No Objection Certificates (NOCs) obtained by the government from individual landowners within Lotha territory, purportedly under the guise of development for NSDZs. The second empowered the NTC to pursue these matters until their demands were met.
Similar resolutions echoed in Zunheboto on September 9, 2014, unveiling a consolidated front against what was perceived as a potential threat to traditional land rights and indigenous identity.
The narrative took an unexpected turn as the NTC claimed that the State Government had stealthily obtained NOCs from private landowners in the foothill areas of Wokha District. However, during the rally, these landowners, expressing autonomy, publicly nullified the NOCs.
The NTC continue to press the State Government to revoke the Cabinet decision on NSDZs and repeal the Nagaland Legislative Assembly Resolution of March 24, 2014 till today asserting that such measures would safeguard earmarked areas from becoming buffer zones and protect the local population from potential secondary citizen status.