Land issue crops up at Mon Medical College site

Villages to withdraw NOC

Mon, March 2 (MExN): Barely days after the foundation stone for the Medical College in Mon was laid, the Chi and Goching Villages have raised objection on the issue of land for the proposed Medical College at Chi Ponghoa, in Mon district.

The villages announced their decision to withdraw the No Objection Certificate (NOC) given to the Konyak Union (KU) and the Mon District Administration in a statement issued on March 2.

It was appended by Yahreih (Chairman, Goching Village Council), MANWANG (Chairman Chi Village Council), Goaklem (Head GB, Goching Village Council), Thoaching (Head GB Chi Village Council), T Kaiyan (President, Chi Citizen) and C Leipa (President, Chi Union Mon Town).

Citing reasons for withdrawal of the NOC, they stated that the Mon district administration had finalized the agreement on January 12, 2020 with the plot owner of Ponghoa without the consent of the Chi Village Council.

“Even after the finalization of the site at Ponghoa, the District Administration led by Deputy Commissioner, President and colleagues of Konyak Union approached the Chi Village Council to survey the new location within Chi jurisdiction as the price at Chi Ponghoa was too high,” they stated.

Accordingly, the ‘Kongjonghoa (Old Army Camp)’ which comes under Chi Village Council was surveyed on January 14, 2020 in the presence of the DC, Medical Survey Team, Land Records and Survey Department, PHED, President and office bearers of Konyak Union (KU). Though the land had good road connectivity and water supply, it was rejected owing to multiple land ownership, the statement added.

It further stated that the district administration also surveyed another land at Natya which also comes under Chi Village Council, adding that the site was also rejected for reasons best known to the administration.

“The sentiments of the Chi Village Council was hurt as the land offered by it was rejected and land at Ponghoa was chosen inspite of the fact that the plot owner was against the entire village of Chi in our own jurisdiction,” it stated.

The Chi Village Council was allegedly compelled to negotiate with the plot owner at Ponghoa by the district administration and Konyak Union with pre-conditions to agree the village’s demands.

One of the demands included that the approval order must be re-issued with the name and address being changed to Ponghoa Chi, District Mon, Nagaland and not as Ponghong.

They also demanded that the land for the proposed Medical College must be re-surveyed with absolute transparency in the presence of Chi and Goching Village Councils and KU to avoid any misunderstanding in future.

Another demand was that the land survey should be utilized for the establishment of Medical College and the project should be completed within the stipulated time period as laid down in the DPR.

“In the event of the project being stalled/abandoned for more than 10 (ten) years over and above the stipulated completed period as stated in the DPR, the Village Council of Chi and Goching shall reclaim the ownership to be used as community land,” it added.

The plot owner and all other affected landowners were to have the right to enjoy compensation for the land only and after which Chi and Goching Village Councils would stand as signatories to the land sale deeds and the MOU to be undertaken with the Department/Government, as per the demands.

The Chi Village Council reportedly demanded the Medical College to be named as ‘Chi Ponghoa Medical College, Chi District Mon: Nagaland’.

However, it was rejected as the Ministry had already approved the college name as ‘Medical College Mon’.

“Later on, it was agreed to add Chi in the address of the Medical College as Medical College Mon At Chi, Dist. Mon: Nagaland,” according to the statement.

On the request of the KU and the DC after the partial fulfillment of their demand by adding Chi in the address of the Medical College, the villages said that they had agreed and issued an NOC to the site at Ponghoa and allowed the completion of the final survey of the land.

They alleged that after all formalities were completed, the Government ordered the DC to remove the name ‘Chi’ after the plot owner “threatened not to give his land (Chi Ponghoa) if the name of the Chi was found on the foundation stone.”

They claimed that not only has their sentiments been hurt ‘time and again’, but above all, not even a single pre-condition has been fulfilled.

In this regard, it was decided that, “not an inch of Ponghoa shall be given to establish the said Medical College and we hereby withdraw the NOC given to the KU and the District Administration…”

They stated that they have been ‘taken for a ride’ on several occasions and “cannot remain mere spectators whatsoever the outcome may be.”