Kohima, September 20 (MExN): The Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO) disagreed with lone Nagaland’s Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) Tokheho Yepthomi’s call for flexibility with Article 371A of the Constitution of India.
Instead of strengthening the Article 371A, the MP’s statement was contrary to restoration of the resolution of the Nagaland State Legislative Assembly on July 26, 2010 in respect of “ownership and transfer of land and its resources” including mineral oil, the NVCO said in a statement.
Yepthomi on September 15 had in a statement argued that unless the Government of Nagaland and the Naga people are “flexible” with the issue of Article 371A of the Indian Constitution, “Nagas will always be dependent on the Central Government for our barest of sustenance.”
A press release from the NVCO Press and Media Cell further informed that the organisation on November 2019 had also submited a representation to the then Governor of Nagaland, RN Ravi to strengthen the Article 371A of Indian Constitution and restore the NLA July 26, 2010 resolution.
The NVCO has placed in record that the Article 371A is a special provision with respect to the State of Nagaland which was inserted in Part XXI of the Constitution of India.
It clearly stated that: (a) No Act of Parliament in respect of (i) religious or social practices of the Nagas; (ii) Naga customary law and procedure; (iii) administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions according to the customary law; and (iv) ownership and transfer of land and its resources, shall apply to the State of Nagaland unless the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland by a resolution to decides, the NVCO pointed out.
Calling for strengthening the Art 371A, the NVCO, citing 2011 unstarred question (No 2423) in the Lok Sabha, dated March 10, 2011, the NVCO said that as per “Article 27.1 of Production Sharing Contract (PSC) under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), the Government of India is the sole owner of Petroleum underlying the Contract Area and shall remain the sole owner of Petroleum produced pursuant to the provisions of this...”
The Supreme Court in Reliance Industries Limited – Reliance Natural Resources Limited case has also reiterated that all natural gas vests in the Union of India by virtue of Article 297, it added.
In addition, the accordance with Art 371A, the NLA 2010 Resolution on “ownership and transfer of land and its resources” including mineral oil, it said.
In this regard, the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, is of the opinion that the term “land and its resources” would include mineral oil and their resources and the State of Nagaland would have the power to frame its own laws regarding ownership and transfer of such land and resources, it added.
However, NVCO President Kezhokhoto Savi has stated against this and the Ministry of Home Affairs, GOI has issued an Office Memorandum dated May 23, 2013 stating that “Article 371A (a) does not confer legislative power to the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland on regulation and development of mineral oil. The power to make law in respect of subject covered under List-1 of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, including entry 53 of List-1 rests with the Parliament,” it said.
In this connection, the NVCO said that the 16 Point Agreement was unanimously adopted by the representatives of 16 (Sixteen) Naga tribes in the 3rd Naga Peoples’ Convention (NPC) in October 1959, which was placed before the Prime Minister of India is a matter of Naga historical and political record.
The bilateral 16-Point Agreement and Article 371A is slowly fading and practically eroding by arbitrary dictates of the Government of India, the NVCO stated, regretting that the GOI is “overriding and destroying” the “special provision ‘Article 371A’ at every turn on its own motion unilaterally.”
Accordingly, the NVCO’s submission to the then State Governor in November 2019 called for taking of this erosion of Article 371A and its related matters with the “Government of India on a war footing to the extent that no Act of Parliament shall apply the State of Nagaland and the term ‘land and its resources’ in Article 371A would include mineral oil and their resources.”
Savi also appealed the GOI that the State of Nagaland should have the power to frame its own laws regarding ownership and transfer of such land and resources including mineral oil under Article 371A, it added.
