Dr Asangba Tzudir
Around the late 1970s the people of Changpang which originally was located high on a hillside began to move to the bottom of the hill when oil extraction started there in 1981, with an ‘unofficial’ rough estimate of 20 million tons of crude oil. This triggered two developments. Protests brewed up led by the Naga Students’ Federation demanding a prohibition on the exploration saying that the ONGC did not have the right to extract natural resources that belonged to Nagas. The main contention was that, the benefits did not go to the community.
In 1973, the Nagaland Government gave the ONGC permission to explore oil and draw a limited amount on a trial basis. But in 1981, it started full-scale extraction in the villages of Changpang and Old Tssori. According to estimates by Lotha Tribal organisations, between 1981 and 1994, it drew 1.02 million metric tonnes of oil. The then Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang said the amount was 1.5 million metric tonnes. (Chakravarty: 20 Feb, 2018). However, it is said that the landowners, considered as the bone in relation to rights, had not been consulted before exploration began. In the process it is reported that the Nagaland Government earned only Rs 33 Crore as royalty. The landowners also agitated for a share or at least, compensation for the damage to the land and environment. After years, they received a total of Rs 67 lakh as royalty (Chakravarty: 20 Feb, 2018) with households getting Rs 12,000/- each.
While the protests by student bodies intensified, the NSCN (IM) reportedly gave an ultimatum to the company to pay Rs 10 million for the extraction. This led to the oil company fleeing away in May 1994, without decommissioning its wells or following proper abandonment procedures thereby leaving the land to be destroyed by the seepage.
The next episode began in 2014 when the State Government gave a permit to a party called the Metropolitan Oil and Gas Private Limited. However, the giving of the permit to this company itself was in violation of the Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2012 which also listed the State Government as an owner, and included criteria like having experience in drilling, and in oil and petroleum business.
The launching of the exploration led to protests ‘provoking’ the State Government to impose section 144. Following this, in October 2015 the Kohima bench of the Gauhati High Court issued a stay order against the permit given to Metropolitan Oil and Gas Pvt. Ltd., after Lotha Hoho, the apex tribal organisation of the Lotha Nagas, filed a public interest litigation citing inconsistencies in the process. Finally, in November 2018, an MoU was signed with the state government after it was agreed to amend the Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2012.
On the other hand, oil exploration could not be taken up in the State for quite some time as there has been a standoff on the exploration issue between the Centre and the state. While Nagaland Government has maintained that if oil exploration had to take place, it should be based on the Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2012 and should take into consideration the special provision of Article 371A.
What then is the way forward, if at all, oil and natural gas exploration and production are seen as a viable means for economic growth of the State? During a recent panel talk on “Oil and Natural gas Exploration and Production in Nagaland” certain pertinent considerations emerged. That, oil and natural gas is an economically viable resource for the future and that there is an urgent need for proper exploration based on the context of the situation. Over the years due to knowledge gaps and various misgivings, the process of exploration and production, which itself is time taking, have remained stalled. In context, there is need to study Article 371A vis-à-vis the Union list, so also the laws related to oil and natural gas exploration, extraction and selling. Often, blind demonization based on land rights and internal bickering alone will only lead to the advantage of the ‘other’.
To this end and in the larger context of oil exploration and production in Nagaland, it is pertinent to see how the current tripartite agreement involving the State of Nagaland and Assam and the Centre; and the bipartite agreement between the State and the Centre are being drafted. This is where the State and the community at large need to come together within a collective understanding. It is also equally important to take into consideration the various environmental concerns.
(Dr Asangba Tzudir contributes a weekly guest editorial to The Morung Express. Comments can be emailed to asangtz@gmail.com)
