Dimapur, August 15 (MExN): A consultative meeting comprising Dimapur-based tribal hohos, the Young Naga Action Committee on Foothills Road and the Nagaland Foothills Road Coordination Committee (NFHRCC) has adopted a series of resolutions rejecting the State Government’s reported move to exclude six Naga tribes and the NFHRCC from further deliberations on the Trans Nagaland Highway (Foothills Road) project.
The meeting, held at Kher Mahal, Dimapur, saw what the organisers described as a “marathon deliberation” on issues concerning the highway.
In its first resolution, the meeting stated: “The 13 Nagaland Tribes vehemently reject the State Government blatant move to omit the 6 Naga Tribes (Chang, Khiamniungan, Rengma, Sangtam, Tikhir, Yimkhiung) and the NFHRCC from the purview of further Trans Nagaland Highway (Foothills Road) deliberation, as inclusively, all the 6 Naga Tribes and the Committee had been steadfastly advocating and spearheading for the success of the Foothills Road Connectivity from Tizit to Khelma since 2013.”
The second resolution asserted that “any decision on the deliberation without the inclusive participation of the 45 MLAs and the NFHRCC on the Trans Nagaland Highway (Foothills Road) henceforth, shall not be acceptable to the 15 Nagaland Tribes as they cannot be rated as a second-class MLAs in regard to the said issue.”
On the question of land acquisition, the meeting’s third resolution declared that the “No Objection Certificate on Right of Way (ROW) of 30 meters width (Approx. 99 ft) as directed by the State Government on the proposed Trans Nagaland Highway (Foothills Road) stretch from Tizit to Khelma cannot be issued at this juncture without proper consultation with all-inclusive Nagaland Apex Tribal HOHOs and the NFHRCC in an appropriate and conducive manner.”
