DIMAPUR, AUGUST 22 (MExN): Responding to the clarification issued by the Chairman of Champang village on the allegations of oil-exploration dealings, the Nchumbemo Kithan, Head GB and Renpi Patton, Secretary Champang Village Council issued a series of counters to refute it. The release contested the claims of the Chairman saying that if there was no middlemen involved in the dealings between M/S SRM Exploration (P) Ltd., and some land owners why should individuals like Longri Ao and Azathung Odyuo from Dimapur, and Samuel Medaliang Zealing from Assam, come to Champang village to conduct meetings. “They neither have an inch of land in Champang, nor do they belong to Champang village. So what business do they have to meddle in the internal affairs of the village unless they were middlemen acting on behalf of the company in question?” they asked.
The rejoinder added that the middle-men had sowed the seed of dissention among the villagers by establishing a Co-operative known as All Lotha Resources Management Cooperative (ALRMC) consisting of a few oil well owners thereby introducing a great divide between the oil well owners and other land owners of the village. Then they reportedly picked the Chairman CVC, enticed him with gifts in cash and kind, and finally secured the 5 paged document containing the Mining Lease and No Objection Certificate in favour of ALRMC.
Nchumbemo and Renpi also presented an extract of the said document which cited; “As empowered by this Act, the discretionary powers of the Village Council chairman by virtue of this Act empowers me to acquire the land and its resources and transfer it to the All Lotha Resource Management Co-operative and to grant them ‘all other things required for the Act’ – here Act in capital letters means both the Nagaland Village and Area Council Act 1970 as a whole and this particular Act of power do all other things required under section 22, and I do herby grand the Mining Lease and No Objection Certificate to for exploration, mining and commercial sale or transfer of the Crude Oil and other petroleum and associated minerals along with it”.
The rejoinder questioned the authority of the Chairman in issuing such NOC and Mining Lease for exploration and extraction of petroleum and also said that if it was the majority’s decision to accord Lease to ALRMC, why was it signed by the Chairman alone without the knowledge and consent of the council or the general public? “In fact not a single meeting was ever called to discuss this issue. Is ownership and transfer of land and its resources belonging to a village a simple enough issue to be handled by one person alone?” they validated.
On the claims of the Chairman that All Lotha Resource Management Cooperative (ALRMC) is an active body of the land owners and the oil bearing wells owners the, two stated that the ALRMC belonged to a family and it did not include even some of the well owners in Champang. Also on the issue of the Soft Top Maruti Gypsy which was said to have been gifted to the village council, the rejoinder demanded to know why it was not declared in the village council meeting or the villagers informed of it earlier.
The release also issued a stern warning to the three “middlemen”, Longri Ao, Samuel Medaliang and Azathung Odyuo, not the set their foot on the soil of Champang adding that if they did so, it would be at their own risk and they would be individually responsible for any eventuality
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