Wokha, December 6 (DIPR): A district level consultative meeting on the Draft Nagaland Land Use Policy was held on December 6 at DC’s conference hall, Wokha. ADC Wokha, Thavaseelan (IAS) while welcoming the participants spoke about the need and importance of the Land Use Policy.
Shilpa Chohan from Indian Environment Law Organisation (IELO) gave a presentation on the key elements of the Draft Nagaland Land Use Policy. This was followed by a presentation from ADC Wokha on the stakeholders’ response to the Draft Policy. He also informed that consultation was held at all administrative headquarters and the summary of the stakeholders’ response was distilled from the opinion and feedback collected at each of these workshops.
Opinions were sought from the participants on the policy prescriptions of the Draft Policy. Most of the village functionaries representing various villages were positive about reservation of 60 degree slope land as reserve forest. They stipulated that the village councils must be made a part of the institutional framework proposed by the Land Use Policy. Customary laws and practices, they added, should not be over ridden by the policy. In the process of mapping, traditional boundaries demarcated by the ancestors should not be ignored, noted one of the representatives. The meeting ended with a summary of the views and concerns that emerged from the participants.
