DIMAPUR, JUNE 27 (MExN): The Central Nagaland Tribes Council (CNTC) has urged the Nagaland Chief Minister to resume oil exploration and extraction in Nagaland.
A press release from the CNTC said that “with the advancement in technology, the usage of fossil fuel will become redundant in the very near future, and whatever natural oil reserve we have will become valueless in due course of time.” The council termed it pertinent to “utilize our natural oil reserve immediately, so that there is also sufficient internal revenue generation for the government and also for the benefit of the land owners.”
The CNTC informed that Petroleum Exploration License (PEL) has been applied for to the Government of Nagaland by Oil India Limited (OIL) which has the exploration license in the bloc comprising the districts of Kohima, Mokokchung, Wokha and Zunheboto since 2019. It felt that “three years is a long time to grant the PEL license.”
It noted that even the Champang Oil field which is closed since 1994 should be opened up for extraction through proper natural oil extraction company. The CNTC expressed concern that the government of the day is “trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the public in the guise of a non- natural oil entity, maybe with the vested interest.”
It further said that the State Government should demand from the ONGC all the drilling & deviation programme for the oil fields in the “so called disputed areas and recover the royalty that is due to the state of Nagaland from the ONGC.”
