On paper, the State Government of Nagaland has passed ‘stringent’ laws and regulations banning and prohibiting activities or items, either found detrimental to public welfare or for the sake of transparency and good governance.
The most cited ‘Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1989’ and the failure either to stop the flow and the smokescreen reality has had been discussed ad nauseam.
Likewise, orders ‘banning’ contractual appointments and ‘Direct Recruitment’, christened as ‘backdoor appointment’ in Nagaland, are routinely issued but allegedly flouted with equal gusto, making the mockery of transparent governance in the state. It is no longer a backdoor but rather considered good deed, executed by a ‘compassionate’ benefactor, at the helm of affairs, either selflessly bestowed or through some transactions. There are many other instances.
The latest to join the bandwagon are two recent orders passed by the State Government within a short interval – the provisional banning of mining activities and the limit on usage of plastic. The order coal mining was issued in January this year and too early to make a comprehensive comment, notwithstanding the report by The Morung Express this week reflecting the ground realities.
The latter, in effect, since December 1, however, appears to be failure with negligible impact either on availability or usages.
The order restricting the use of plastics was taken on the State’s Cabinet Meeting on November 26, 2018 and notified with view to eradicate the “menace of plastic and the serious environmental and ecological challenges posed by rampant use of plastics.” It was to be implemented with “immediate effect.”
The order look ‘menacing’ like the menace of the ‘plastic’ usages it was purportedly intended to prevent. Among others, all single-use plastics less than “50 microns, specially plastic bags and plastic cutleries including Styrofoam and thermocol disposable plates” was banned from December 1, 2018. It further informed that a “taskforce will be set up in each district that will include Government officials, NGOs, Church leaders to devise local strategies and build awareness for Plastic Free environment.”
Neither the availability of plastic nor the setting-up of taskforce seem to be affected so far. Measures like prohibiting certain category of packaged drinking water bottles in government offices are yet to come into force, along with banning of plastic straws January 1, 2020.
The state of affairs in Nagaland, thus, is akin to a classic case of ‘Paper tiger’ syndrome – fierce on paper but toothless impact on execution. Despite symbolic gestures, those at the helms of affairs lack the seriousness to implement, which consequently, evokes weak response from the general public.
With the paper tiger laws serving up little to deter, the intended laws are circumvented both advertently and inadvertently. The prevailing situations also reflect the case of policy makers, particularly of the political kind, legislating with emotion, rather than with a clear insight and proper perspective planning.
Regulatory framework and administrative mechanisms devoid of clear vision and planning are destined to fall short and will be ineffective due to lack of enforcement and implementation necessary to ensure compliance. This, in turn, generates a weak moral compass to follow, due to lack of previous precedent. Time is opportune to create such precedence.