Mokokchung, June 27 (MTNews): The Central Nagaland Tribes Council (CNTC) has appealed to the government of Nagaland to resume oil exploration and extraction in the state, while assuring its full cooperation.
In a letter to the chief minister, the CNTC stated that it has time and again appealed to the Government of Nagaland to resume Oil Exploration and Extraction in Nagaland “but for reasons best known to the government, no action has been taken.”
It said that with the advancement in technology, the usage of fossil fuel will become redundant and in the very near future, “whatever natural oil reserves we have will become valueless in due course of time.”
“It is, therefore, pertinent to utilize our natural oil reserve immediately, so that there is also sufficient internal revenue generation for the Government and also for the benefit of the land owners,” the letter read.
“Now, it is learned that PEL (petroleum exploration license) has been applied for to the Government of Nagaland by OIL (Oil India Limited) which has the exploration license in the bloc comprising the District of Kohima, Mokokchung, Wokha and Zunheboto since 2019, CNTC feels the three years is a long time to grand the PEL license,” it added.
The CNTC also said that the Champang Oil Field, which has been closed since 1994, should be opened up for extraction through a proper natural oil extraction company, while alleging the state government of trying to deceive the public. “It appears that the government of the day is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the public in the guise of a non- natural oil entity, maybe with the vested interest,” CNTC wrote.
“The state Government should also demand from the ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) all the drilling and deviation programme for the oil fields in the so called dispute areas and recover the royalty that is due to the state of Nagaland from the ONGC,” it wrote, while requesting the chief minister to take up the matter earnestly.