Skip to content Skip to navigation

Traditional method of resource ownership backfires in Nagaland

Traditional method of resource ownership backfires in Nagaland

The traditional method of ownership over land and resources in Nagaland, which has benefitted the state to a great extent in terms of tourism and sustainable development in the state has however seemed to completely backfire when it comes to oil mining in the state.

Changpang in the Wokha districts in the state is a very oil rich state but till date the state has not been able to exploit the rich resource which it has.

According to senior officials in the Nagaland government, has over 20 million tonnes of hydrocarbon reserves.

Production began in 1981 but it stopped 13 years later. Local people and militant groups contended that land was leased to ongc in violation of Nagaland’s special status under article 371 of the Constitution—no central government act pertaining to transfer of land applies to the state unless the state assembly ratifies it.

They demanded an additional 2 per cent royalty for the state. Consent of local bodies, mandatory since most of Nagaland falls under Schedule vi of the Constitution, was also not taken, local people alleged.

The Nagaland government bowed to local pressure and put a stop to ongc’s operations 14 years ago.

But villagers continue to suffer from the after effects of oil mining. Leakage from the wells is a major problem. “We have to be extra careful while venturing into forests since a fire can break out anytime,” says Opvuo Odyuo a resident of Changpang. A lot of agricultural land in the village has become barren, he adds.

However pollution is not the only issue at the moment about which the local are worries, they are also concerned about the lack of development in the area.

Villagers allege that very little of the oil royalty money has gone into local development. ONGC had paid a royalty of Rs 33.83 crore for crude extracted from Changpang to the Nagaland government, but of that only Rs 67 lakh reached the village.

In 2006 there was a local initiative by some villagers to start oil mining. Some villagers felt that developmental issues could be addressed if local bodies had a say in oil mining, and that year landowners with oil-bearing wells came together to form the All Lotha Resource Management Cooperative of Changpang (ALRMCC). The cooperative held talks with Spice Resources Management, an affiliate of the Gurgaon-based corporate Spice Energy, to conduct oil exploration in Changpang.

But the state government refused to allow the corporate any toehold in the state’s oil sector.

Despite the Nagaland government’s interference to broker a deal in the issue and to ensure exploration of oil, nothing concrete has worked out till date. The Nagaland government last year had formed a cabinet sub committee to look in to the issue, which after hectic parleys with different groups, which included civil society organizations, student groups and different NGOs had submitted a report to the state government.

A study under the national Foundation for India (NFI) media fellowship which was undertaken in Wokha district shows that the local people in the Wokha district wants the state government to interfere on the issue at the earliest so that development finds its way to the area.

In another move, which could spark a controversy the Nagaland government is going to frame a mines and minerals policy for the state which keeps the centre off from receiving share of any royalty or profit from the oil, natural gas and mineral resources exploration done in the state with the center.

Nagaland chief minister Neiphu Rio, who was serving his second term as chief minister then had told the media last year that the Nagaland government is working out a new formula for the exploration and exploitation of oil and natural gas besides other mineral resources of the state.

 

Author info

Amarjyoti Borah's picture

Amarjyoti Borah is a National Foundation for India (NFI) media fellow.

Add new comment

Random Stories

Militant diktat defied yet again, people celebrate I-Day

15 Aug 2009 - 10:44am | Nava Thakuria
Enough is enough. This exactly appeared to be the message the Guwahatians on Sunday sent to the militants, who issue a diktat on Independence Day eve every year asking people not to celebrate their...

ABSU slams Serman Ali

22 Sep 2017 - 7:20am | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
The All Bodo Students Union(ABSU) has come down heavily on Congress MLA Serman Ali for hid unconstitutional words on Harishangkhar Brahma over reports of the land right and protection committee....

1200 Reang Regugees came back to Home

28 May 2010 - 11:46am | Raktim Baruah
A group of 1200 Reang refugees has returned back to home, Mizoram from Kanchanpur of north Tripura after thirteen years of displacement. Flowing the recent direction of the central home ministry...

Manipur scribe assaulted, IJU demands punishment to culprits

26 Oct 2021 - 8:17pm | Nava Thakuria
Hyderabad: The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has strongly condemned the incident of assault on a Manipur journalist and urged the state chief minister, N. Biren Singh, to book the culprits under the...

Other Contents by Author

Doctors and bidi victims welcomed the decision to categorize all tobacco products including bidis as demerit goods, taxing them at the highest tax rate at 28% under GST. Taxing bidis, cigarettes and chewing tobacco products at the highest GST rate will not only discourage the consumption of tobacco products but will also increase revenue collections for the government. “Categorizing all tobacco products at the highest GST rate, including bidis, is one of the boldest and most impactful public health decisions that central Government has taken to protect the health of its citizens from the growing menace of tobacco addiction. Taxing bidis at 28% will prevent death and disease not only...
Guwahati based Centre for Environment, Social and Policy Research (CESPR) is organising a day-long workshop for Journalists on Climate Change and Environment Reporting at Guwahati on September 8. The Workshop will be held at the Conference hall of the Assam Science Society at Khanapara. The Workshop will be addressed by several senior journalists and academicians, and will be attended by journalists from different parts of the North Eastern region. During the second half of the day, there will be a discussion on, “Ownership and Corporatization of Media, and its impact on Environment and Climate Change Coverage”. The discussion will be attended by senior journalists, academician and...
Comminitisation in Nagaland should not be rushed and more time should be given for it to evolve as a wholesome approach for development – this is what several eminent people who have worked in Nagaland feel. This opinion comes at a time when there is news of this system of community ownership over land and resources in the state having failed to meet the expectations of the state government and different civil society groups.Former Nagaland chief secretary RS Pandey said in an interview that expectation levels are very high and communities in the state have the potential to deliver much more than is expected. However it will take time.   Pandey is among those responsible for...
Despite seeing development in terms of infrastructure and vehicles in the oil rich districts of Sibsagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia in neighbouring Assam, the villagers of Nagaland seem unmoved over the lack of development in their own state.The Wokha district in Nagaland, is a oil rich district but however development till date couldn’t actually take place as a result of public protest and also protests by different organizations.“The system of ownership over land and resources is different in Nagaland, and here its not owned by a single individual but by the community as a whole, and to do any activity such as oil exploration, the community as a whole must give the consent,” said Manisha...
It’s not often that a remote village finds a mention in government tourism brochures. Khonoma in Nagaland does. The village is not exactly an archetypal exotic destination. You have to withstand a two-hour, bone-rattling bus trip from Kohima to get there. But it’s a trip worth taking if you are a wildlife enthusiast.  For Khonoma is the site of a unique conservation endeavour: the Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan sanctuary. The 70 sq km reserve is the fruit of a predominantly local initiative to preserve the endangered pheasant, the Blyth’s Tragopan.  Getting to the village could be a bit of a bother. The place is about 20 kilometres southwest of Kohima. For about four of...
Demanding immediate justice for the members of the non Nyishi community members living in Arunachal Pradesh, several senior Nyshi leaders have started a joint movement to pressurize the centre for its immediate interference. The leaders have also threatened to move the High Court or the Supreme Court if the situation doesn’t return to normal in the state soon. These leaders, under the banner of Nyishi Social Justice Forum have sharply criticized the Nyishi leaders who started this hatred campaign among the various communities in the state. “Few Nyishi leaders and an NGO named Nyishi Elite Society (NES) have joined hands to create a crisis like situation in the state,...
The Centre for Environment, Social and Policy Research (CESPR), a Guwahati based organization is planning a series of legal camps in several places across Assam. According to researchers of CESPR, these camps will basically focus on issues of Domestic Violence, Woman Rights and Human Rights. The first among this series of camp was held at the Ruhiteswar Saikia Stadium at Nazira on September 11 in collaboration with Probaah, a leading Sibsagar based organization. The camp at Nazira was graced by Debabrata Saikia, local MLA who in his speech stated that awareness is the key to stop crime on woman and people need to be aware about the Domestic Violence Act, which was enacted to check...
The HSBC Guwahati branch in association with the Delhi based environment organization Centre for Media Studies (CMS), is celebrating World Environment Week 2011, with various activities aimed at creating environment awareness. The World Environment Week 2011 at the HSBC Guwahati branch got kick started on June 3 with a pledge taking ceremony by all the 17 HSBC employees where they pledged to extend their support towards the cause of environment. On June 6, there was an event ‘discovering the hidden values of trees’ where a Hollong plant was displayed inside the branch, and a CMS volunteer explained the importance of the plant to all the HSBC employees and the visiting...
Globally renowned expert on forest canopy ecology, Professor Margaret Lowman of North Carolina State University, USA has underlined the need for undertaking research on forest canopy in the North East India. Addressing a Aaranyak-ATREE sponsored seminar on United Nations Year of the Forest : Inspiring new stakeholders to reverse deforestation at Handique Girls College here on February 5 last, Professor (Dr) Lowman said there was tremendous scope for study of canopy ecology in forest areas of the North East with involvement of the community. She said such research would lead to unearthing new facts about the environment and egged on the girl students to take a plunge in it for conservation...
“Hihur Sandhanot Luitedi”,- a book written in Assamese is released today at Guwahati Press Club by Dr. Kulendu Pathak, Former Vice-Chancellor, Dibrugarh University and prominent science writer. Dr. Abdul Wakid, the Programme Head of the Gangetic Dolphin Research and Conservation Initiative (GDRCI) of Aaranyak, a society for biodiversity conservation in North-East India, is the author of the book which is published by Aaranyak. Other prominent persons present were Dr. Anwaruddin Choudhary, a renowned wildlife biologist of the region and Dr. Bibhab Kr. Talukdar, Secretary General, Aaranyak. The book is based on the real experience of a survey conducted in the Brahmaputra...