Al Ngullie
Morung Express News
DIMAPUR | MARCH 4
The Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is pressing the Government of Nagaland to ‘restart’ oil explorations in Nagaland soon. The “frequent” prodding from the ONGC will add to the State’s headache even as the Nagaland government continues to rummage for a remedy to a dilemma that has thrown up more stakeholders than shareholders since crude petroleum was struck in Nagaland in 1981.
Just yesterday, an influential students’ organization representing a community, which owns the state’s biggest petroleum pot, the Changpang oil belt, had flayed the government’s Cabinet-appointed Sub-Committee on oil and natural resources for failing to devise modalities that would open doors to resuming exploration in the state. Also, lack of statutory backing may add to the headache – it is very unlikely that the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Oil and Natural Resources would complete devising the ‘modalities’ by the state’s Budget Session, i.e., March 12.
“They have been frequently asking all the time; (ONGC) will clean the oil wells; (ONGC) can start oil explorations and so on,” Chief Secretary of Nagaland Lalthara disclosed tonight. Queried on recent reports that the ONGC’s Basin Manager of Assam and Assam-Arakan Basin Sudhir Kumar Jain was in touch with the state administration, Lalthara replied in the negative.
Earlier in January this year there was a report that Sudhir Kumar Jain had ‘appealed’ to the government of Nagaland and ‘some social organizations’ to expedite work to resume exploration. The social organizations are understood to be those Changpang village – the oil pot – and principle Naga organizations such as the Naga Hoho. Nonetheless, Lalthara said that the ONGC officials have been “frequently asking” about resuming explorations.
The chief secretary said a ‘solution’ to a dilemma – traced backed to 1994 when the ONGC stopped work and pulled out of the state – may lie in the modalities being devised by the Cabinet Sub-committee on Oil and Natural resources. Unless the modalities have been framed and the report is submitted, the state is not in position to do much for now, Lalthara said.
“Solution is in the Cabinet committee’s modalities. The Centre has conceded that the state has the authority (to oversee and regulate her natural resources) but it may take time. It (oil and petroleum) is a big subject; we are new to it.”
To the query whether the committee would be ready with the ‘modalities; by March for the Budget Session, the official said it was very unlikely. In all likelihood, the committee’s report would be submitted to the State government only after the Budget Session, the official observed.
Narrating some of the issues concerning crude oil, the chief secretary said that the principle community stakeholder, the Kyong Naga, is “allergic to ONGC.” The civil organizations leading the Kyong community have been aggressive ever since the corporation decamped leaving oil rigs that reportedly continue to spilling oil across Changpang’s village lands to this day. Prior to production in the Changpang oil fields being stopped, the Changpang oil belt was reportedly giving 150 tons of crude petroleum in a day.
The chairman of the Cabinet sub-committee TR Zeliang could not be reached for comment at the time of filing this news report.
