DIMAPUR, APRIL 1 (MExN): The Forest and Raw Materials Contractors Association Tuli (F&RMCA) on behalf of Tuli area tree farmers has voiced out against the Nagaland Government’s decision to impose a complete ban on sale of sawn timber outside the state other than finished products.
A press release from the association stated that this is directly contravention of Article 371 (A) as well as Naga customary right and practice.
“The main source of livelihood of the Naga people is agriculture. Economically Nagaland depends mainly up on cultivation. About 90% of the population are involved in cultivation, farming like tree, tea, rubber etc. Along with the agriculture, the small scale and medium scale industries are growing side by side. From the recent past till date both these industries have grown by leaps and bounds,” it pointed out.
Unless an alternative arrangement for the trees farmers is available, the association stated that the Naga people would “never accept the decision.”
“If this ban has to be imposed, the cabinet should have given constant guidance and briefing on the proper ways for which reasons the out sale ban has to be imposed,” it added.
