Our Correspondent
Kohima | March 22
Nagaland’s Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio today said that the state government is also actively pursuing for setting up a separate High Court for the state at the earliest.
“The Parliament is expected to enact the Act to set up a separate High Court for the State this year,” Rio said in his budget speech.
In the meantime, it is of utmost importance for us to strengthen our Customary Courts and institutions which are protected by the provisions of Article 371(A) of the Constitution, he said adding “We have compiled the customary practices and usages of the different tribes in the state.”
Rio said that this will be first printed and then provided to all the Tribal Bodies for translation into their respective dialects.
“This will provide the basic framework for the customary courts such as the Village Councils and Dobashi Courts in disposing of cases,” he said.
In this, he said that he is also examining the restoration of the powers given to each Village Council to administer justice within the village limits in accordance with customary law and usages.
“This provision was earlier removed by an amendment made to the Nagaland Village and Tribal Councils Act, 1978 during the year 1985.The Act was amended in 1985, 1990, 2002 and 2009, and this will be the fifth amendment,” he said.
SARFAESI Act
Rio informed that the state government has made various efforts to create a conducive environment for private initiative to flourish.
“We had, during the last Assembly session, passed a resolution that the SARFAESI Act would be made applicable to the state with the safeguard that land will not be alienated from indigenous inhabitants,” Rio said adding that such decision was taken after exhaustive consultations and obtaining legal views from the Learned Advocate General.
“I am happy to announce that since then, the banks have started sanctioning loans and credit flow to businesses and entrepreneurs have picked up, addressing the earlier hardships faced by them,” the Chief Minister said and announced that RBI has given the permission for opening of bank branches in the unbanked blocks of Sakshi in Longleng and Chessore in Shamator.
