Al Ngullie
Morung Express News
Dimapur | October 4
The Government of Nagaland has began framing rules and criteria to govern mechanism, contract and production processes and economic peripherals associated with exploration of crude petroleum and natural gas in the state of Nagaland.
Government leaders confirmed October 4, Thursday that the Cabinet has constituted a high-level Cabinet committee headed by a minister to start framing a regulatory mechanism.
With the task for a regulatory framework, the State’s leaders have amply indicated that the Nagaland Legislative Assembly’s tacit nod to resuming exploration of oil – stopped in 1994 and later ‘resumed’ in 2008 only to stop again – is not in principle but literal.
Information on Thursday said that the Nagaland State Cabinet constituted the committee in the name and style of ‘Cabinet Committee of Rules for Oil Exploration and Natural Gas’ a week ago. The high-level committee is reportedly headed by Minister for Planning and Coordination TR Zeliang. The Chief Minister’s Office was unavailable for comment as was Zeliang when The Morung Express attempted to reach them.
Minister for Agriculture Dr. Chumben Murry and Chief Secretary of Nagaland Lalthara confirmed the event. Dr. Murry said the Cabinet has decided to instate the ‘committee for rules’ to frame criteria and regulations that would oversee the commercial production of petroleum and natural gas in Nagaland.
Queried whether or not the commencement of designing regulations meant that the Nagaland government is now literally resuming oil ‘works’ the minister responded simply by saying “that should be the idea.” No additional information on the matter was offered by the leader.
Chief Secretary of Nagaland Lalthara explained on Thursday that the committee has been entrusted the job of framing rules and criteria that would govern every procedure, form of permit and their application, application of agreements, contract and licenses as well as general economic exchanges associated with the process of commercial production of crude oil and natural gas.
According to recent information, the new committee basically comprises the same members of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources, which had framed the draft modalities on petroleum. Earlier, legislators from the opposition bench, the Congress, comprised the members; the new committee has none of them and some of the old faces may have been replaced for the new job, Lalthara said. The identities of the new members in the new committee could not be ascertained at the time of filing this news report.
This is for citizens’ note that the draft modalities of the Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulations 2012 as well as the sub-committee’s “modalities” approved by the 12th session of the 11th Nagaland Legislative Assembly, in September.
Once framed, the rules would be placed before the Nagaland Cabinet. The Cabinet Committee of Rules is expected to submit its ‘product’ by December this year, Lalthara said.
Further, the envisaged rules shall not be confined to the two central crude petroleum belts in Nagaland, Changpang village and Tssori village areas in Wokha neighboring the borders of Assam, the government official said.
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