Morung Express News
Dimapur | November 16
Giving a new twist to the oil exploration issue in Changpang area in Wokha district, the Changpang Land Owners Union today said that the Spice Resource Management Company has been deliberately trying to divide the people after coming through ‘back door’ to get the right of oil exploration in the area. The CLOU leaders addressing media persons at a private residence here today, said that any oil firm that is interested in exploring oil in Changpang area must come through the right direction after getting the due approval from the state government and the Lotha Hoho.
In this regard, the CLOU members alleged that the SRM company has been trying to get oil exploration rights after meeting former land owners who have actually sold off their land in the past, and on whose lands the oil rigs are standing and who are trying to reclaim their lands by standing on Article 371 of the Indian constitution.
The CLOU words gain significance since the All Lotha Resource Management Cooperative Champang (ALRMCC), have been making a hard stand that the government or for that matter, the NGOs, cannot bypass the villagers, especially the “oil-bearing landowners”.
The CLOU strongly deplored the activities of the SRM in trying to get oil exploration rights through back door appointment, and in this regard, asserted that a private company is deliberately trying to create confusion among the people. The CLOU leaders said that the SRM is deliberately trying to divide the people.
“They (SRM) should have come through the right direction…they are meeting the people who have sold off their land in which the oil rig has been standing,” said a CLOU member.
In this regard, CLOU members alleged of a nexus between the ALRMCC and the SRM Company for selfish motives.
“Unfortunately they are having some nexus with some people which are standing in the way of doing justice to the people,” one CLOU leader said.
Talking about the legitimacy of the CLOU, the leaders said that on June 30, 2007 the Changpang Village Council during a general meeting on June 30, 2007, has handed over the mineral resources rights in the area to be handled by the CLOU for the larger interest of the people. CLOU was formed in 1989, they said.
Standing on this the CLOU members said that the Village Council has no right to question the CLOU since the Council has authorized the Union to handle the mineral rights in the area.
Giving their stand on the oil exploration issue, the CLOU said that they are neither in support nor in opposition of either the SRM or the Canadian Oil Firm Canoro, coming and exploring oil in the area.
However, the CLOU said that it stands by three principles; honorability, acceptability and reliability, which they said is also the principles of the Naga Students’ Federation.
They said that any company coming in to explore oil in the area must come through proper channel after taking due approval from state government and the Lotha Hoho and the Lotha Students’ Union, and not through back door activities.
Furthermore, the CLOU requested the media not to take the ALRMCC very seriously.
“It would be nice if the media do not give much weightage to the ALRMCC because it is not registered and recognized formed by very few of the land owners,” the CLOU members said.
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