A discussion at Kerünyü Ki unwraps Nagaland’s situation
Morung Express News
Kohima | May 21
Development is a word so often used in Nagaland, it has almost become a Naga word.
This was Niketu Iralu’s way of pointing out the obsession with ‘development’ in Nagaland State. Hills have disappeared and biodiversity lost as the word ‘sustainable’ remains missing from Nagaland’s development process.
A prominent Naga elder, Iralu was hosting a discussion at Kerünyü Ki—House of Listening—on ‘Sustainable Development – The future we want to see’ in Sechu, Zubza, on Saturday, May 20. Organized by the North East Network, Nagaland, the discussion theme was modeled around the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
As sustainable development practitioners of the State presented challenges and achievements in their regions, a parallel presentation unfurled on the Government of Nagaland’s Vision 2030.
Voices from the ground
Natural resources in Nagaland State are being rapidly used up to fuel a burgeoning urban populace. In the lack of alternative models that could meet growing pressure on the environment, or even replenish natural resources, development is now creating scarcity which could trigger future conflict.
In Dimapur, for instance, 50% of the households were using groundwater (by digging wells) to meet their water needs in 2005, informed Liangsi John, Director of C-CERP. Her organization has been working with people on environmentally sustainable development projects. “By now, more than 70% are probably using groundwater,” she guessed. While this could lead to the depletion of aquifers that contain the groundwater, Dimapur citizens face another challenge. “In some parts of the city, the water contains high levels of iron,” Liangsi stated, quoting a report from the Nagaland State Pollution Board. While other harmful chemicals could also show up given proper tests, using contaminated groundwater could lead to several diseases, particularly in children.
Kohima city’s people face similar risks. Without a proper drainage system to connect the expanding hill town, sewage threatens to contaminate water sources in an already scarce environment. Dr. Nesatalu Hiese, Scientist D at Nagaland Science & Technology Council (NASTEC) revealed disturbing data. Tube wells in Kohima are drying up even as “rapid and unplanned urbanization” is creating a hazardous atmosphere. “50% of Kohima city is built on high risk, landslide prone, areas,” she informed. Houses are built by individual landowners without respect for engineering, ignoring sewage systems and insurance against landslide.
Improper waste management is also common to both cities.
In the rural areas, meanwhile, similar problems are cropping up and environment degradation has become synonymous with ‘advancement’.
Longleng district, for instance, has fallen victim to the government’s development projects. Large swathes of the hills were cut down for a four lane highway that was to pass through the district. As the hills and forests disappeared, so did the contractors, leaving a muddy river for a road in its trail. The same company has now been given the contract to ‘four-lane’ the Dimapur-Kohima road, informed Rev. Amop Noklang, Director of the NBCC’s Nagaland Development Outreach. Like the much-anticipated Foothills Road, many such projects meet a similar fate in Nagaland. It not only destroys the traditional environment that has sustained the people, it also feeds poverty, pushing people into logging and coal mining, he lamented. Here, profits for the locals remain marginal.
Kiphire district has similar woes. Globalization has become more of a bane than boon here, with people importing such technology as chain saws from Myanmar. Timber logging in Kiphire’s dense forests has increased manifold—the heavy burden of poverty leads people to sell Nagaland’s timber off at “dirt prices” to outsiders, noted Journalist and Conservationist, Lipichem Sangtam. Binocular fitted air guns have led to overenthusiastic hunting of species that are endogenous to the region, and perhaps even endangered, he highlighted. With forests and species disappearing at an alarming level, there is no detailed documentation yet of what exists and what will be forever gone.
In Phek district, however, community efforts are underway to reverse the malpractices that have led to environment degradation. The Baptist Theological College (BTC) in Pfutsero planted 1500 trees last year as well as made their college surroundings a “plastics free zone,” informed Rev. Dr. Yiepetso Wezah, Principal of BTC. As Pfutsero town struggles to meet its water demands, more afforestation efforts have been instated in cooperation with the local community. Churches are partnering on these missions. Villages in Phek district are also taking up green methods for economic growth, he said.
Vision 2030
In responding to development challenges in the State, the Government of Nagaland released a document termed ‘Nagaland Vision 2030’.
Former chief secretary to Nagaland State, Alemtemshi Jamir, IAS (Retd.), led the efforts to prepare this ambitious document within a span of two months in 2016. Giving an overview of Vision 2030 at the discussion on May 20, Jamir found peace to be a “pre-requisite” to the envisaged purpose: to create an “urban industrialized” Nagaland.
As peace is negotiated in Delhi, Nagaland State moves on. In 2011, the former bureaucrat informed, Nagaland State witnessed “urbanization” at the rate of 69% but without the corresponding growth in infrastructure required to support an urban lifestyle. In rural areas, infrastructure related to power, education or health remains in extremely poor condition and for development to move, these must be overhauled. So in the case of health, for example, Vision 2030 suggests privatization as a way forward. While government educational institutions need to be physically re-built all over, Vision 2030 recommends (among others) the present British system of education to be replaced by an American one.
Taking the Act East Policy as the benchmark for development, Vision 2030 sees skill development of about 20,000 persons per year in line with the Policy’s requirements—this would include “skilling for industrial requirement, as also in trade and commerce.” Wider highways, learning Hindi, diversifying higher education, bridging regional disparity, gender “mainstreaming”, developing industrial zones in the valley and plains, enhancing communitisation and a range of suggestions meant to be a “future roadmap” for the State are made in the Vision 2030 document.
“Only 7 percent of the State’s expenditure is generated locally through taxes. At this rate, Nagaland may become a failed state,” observed Jamir at the discussion.
Isn’t it already? Some may ask. People, however, have a different story of sustaining themselves even without State-provided infrastructure. To ‘Act East’, thus, the State’s policyshapers may need to look within rather than in the direction of Delhi. The State needs to find a way to work with the people; design contextual, sensitive and workable policies that do not respond to, say, problems of urbanization with more urbanization. Sustainability—small is beautiful—needs to become a mantra in the collective outlook of the State and the people for a healthy future to unfold.
The discussion highlighted this in conclusion.