The recent 11th Session of the 12th Nagaland Legislative Assembly had passed the “Nagaland Backward Tribes Commission (NBTC), Bill 2016.” There is no objection to such Bill in its name and style. But one surprises after going through the contents of the Bill which now becomes legislation as it has been passed in the just concluded Nagaland Assembly Session.
When I have studied the contents of the NBTC, 2016 with full of curiosity, to my amaze, a lot of loopholes and highly questionable nature of the Act (NBTC, 2016) have been found. And I have come to a conclusion that without proper debates and discussions in the Assembly when the Bill was tabled, the Assembly, which has no Opposition, might have hurriedly passed it. The manner in which the present TR Zeliang-led Opposition-less Government in Nagaland had passed the NBTC Act 2016 is questionable.
It appears to be a ploy in view of the 2018 State General Elections to woo the electorates of the Eastern Naga areas.
Why I said so? The NBTC Act 2016 has mainly focused on the six tribes of ENPO areas namely Chang, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Phom, Sangtam and Yimchungru belonging to Longlen, Kiphire, Mon and Tuensang districts of Nagaland. And when Chief Minister TR Zeliang was asked before passing the NBTC Bill 2016 as to how such Bill was moved to pass, his simple reply was it was done on the basis of a Memorandum submitted by the ENSF. How could a Chief Minister say that such NBTC Bill 2016 could be drafted on the basis of a Memorandum submitted by the ENSF without properly examining the commissions and omissions and any other would-be consequences if there were any overlapping points in the Bill. Because you introduced the Bill as “Nagaland Backward Tribes Commission (NBTC), Bill 2016” and mentioning only six tribes of Longlen, Kiphire, Mon and Tuensang districts of Nagaland, whereas there are other backward tribes in Nagaland who have also been enjoying “backward tribe reservation quotas.”
What will the Chief Minister do if Tenyime students submit a similar Memorandum as a precedence has already been created? We will have no option but to accept it and make it a “Law.”
I would like to inform the Chief Minister of Nagaland that we already have DUDA and also other Schemes meant for the development of the backward regions in the State. The people particularly living in the ENPO areas have been struggling to catch up with the rest of the State in education and employment sectors. There are 25% job reservations for the people of the ENPO areas but how far the State Government has done justice to this. It has been 52 years of Nagaland Statehood and if one carefully examines, there are unimaginable gaps between the people of ENPO areas and the rest of the State in areas of employments and educations. Now the Government will take the excuse that because this failure in implementing the job reservations, a Bill such as NBTC Bill 2016 has come up. It is nothing a ploy not only woo the people of the ENPO areas in view of the upcoming 2018 Nagaland General Elections but also consuming fund meant for the ENPO areas. It is also time-buying mechanism and the people of the ENPO areas will only suffer at the end.
The Government of Nagaland can simply fulfill the 25% job reservations for the people of ENPO areas. There are also various Schemes flowing in from the Center for the development of the backward regions in the State and such funds hardly percolate down to the targeted. They do not need a Commission to implement it. This controversial legislation has to be reviewed in an acceptable manner, or else it has to be retracted.
T Methna Konyak Mon Town, Nagaland
