Kohima, 28 March (MTNews): The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has expressed surprise that the state government of Nagaland is intending to start oil exploration and extraction in the disturbed area belt (DAB) once a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is signed with the government of India and Assam.
The NSF, in a press release on Tuesday, said that the reason cited for this development was the “substantial loss in revenue due to non-extraction of oil even as the neighbouring state, Assam, continues to exploit the resources in the Assam-Nagaland Border.”
“It is also learnt that the state government is in a hurry to sign the tripartite MOU conceding to the proposal of Assam regarding equal sharing of proceeds on oil and gas from A, B & C of the Disturbed Area Belt (DAB) and that the proceeds from D, E & F may be kept in an escrow account pending settlement between the two states,” the NSF said.
It escapes the rationale of the youth and students’ community, NSF said, as to why the state government should share royalty with any other states for any resources whose extraction exercise is carried out solely in the areas administered by the state government of Nagaland.
While admitting that the “illegal extraction” by the neighbouring state is leading to “massive revenue loss and dwindling of the petroleum deposit,” the NSF said it cannot be the excuse as to why the state government should resort to steps which will “compromise with the inalienable right of the Naga people over our land and resources.”
The NSF thus urged the government of Nagaland to take a step back and not take any hasty decision on the matter, “as such a move threatens to jeopardize the future of the upcoming generation in particular and the Naga people in general.”
It also demanded the state government to place the proposed tripartite agreement in public domain for thorough deliberation, consultations and suggestions prior to the state government acting upon it.
Further, the NSF also reminded that it had on 2 May, 1994 through a “public statement” demanded the government of Nagaland that: all activities of ONGC of India must immediately stop in all Naga areas; revoke licenses or permits made by the ‘State Govt. of Nagaland’ with the ONGC; and not accept the ‘so called oil royalty’ from the ONGC by the state government of Nagaland till modalities that are honourable, acceptable and beneficial to the Naga people are worked out.
The NSF said that the state government of Nagaland issued a licence to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) of India to prospect petroleum and Natural gas in 1973. “The ONGC ever since then has been indiscriminately exploiting and extracting crude oil from various places of the Naga homeland without proper records. This act directly undermines the inalienable rights of the Naga people.”
It further said that this act of the state government was “resented and condemned as it does not have the goodwill and mandate of the people.”