Tussle over construction of memorial monolith
Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 19
The effects of the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) elections fiasco continue to resurface time and again. The Nagaland State Government and the Diphupar Village Council (DVC) are now engaged in a tussle over the legality of construction of a proposed memorial monolith in honour of the two Diphupar village youths - Thejavizo Metha and Bendangnungsang, who died in the violence on January 31 in Dimapur.
The Dimapur district administration on August 19 halted the construction of a memorial monolith by the DVC at the entrance to the Agri Expo site at 4th Mile. The State Government maintained that the land is government property while the DVC maintained the land in question falls well within the jurisdiction of Diphupar village.
The Deputy Commissioner, Dimapur when contacted said that there is a standing order from the government prohibiting any unauthorised construction activity at the site demarcated by the DVC for the erection of the proposed memorial monolith. The order from the State Government dated August 17, 2017, as per the DC, was formally conveyed to the DVC on August 18. Despite, the DVC went ahead with the construction, the DC said while adding it was observed that the groundwork for erecting a 15x15 (feet) monolith started on August 18.
“The government’s decision is clear that no activity of any kind will be allowed (at the proposed memorial site) under any circumstances.” The DC said that initially, pending the August 17 order, the DVC was allowed to set up a tent at the proposed site. It was though unclear as for what purpose the tent was allowed. Now with the order out, the DC added that it has also been withdrawn.
As for the DVC, it maintained that Diphupar village has every right to construct the monolith at the site as it technically comes under the jurisdiction of the village. The DVC Chairman said that Diphupar village was officially recognised by the government in 1961 while the present Agri Expo site came only later. The chairman said that the department of Agriculture had started sugarcane cultivation at the site in 1966 in anticipation of the erstwhile, and now defunct, Sugar Mill. With the Mill defunct, the land was transformed into the present Agri Expo venue.
The Chairman though added that the question of land ownership and the construction of the memorial are two different matters altogether. “They (government) are mixing the issue of the death of Thevizo and Bendangnungsang with that of land ownership,” the Chairman said.
As regards the next step of the DVC, the Chairman said that a meeting of all communities of Diphupar village will be convened on August 21 to arrive at a decision.
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