‘Concept of NSDZ is to protect landowners’

[caption id="attachment_152090" align="alignnone" width="550"] (L-R) Theja Therieh, Alemtemshi Jamir, Neiphiu Rio, Salikyu Sangtam and Imkong Walling during the panel discussion on NSDZ at the NITex business summit on Tuesday.[/caption] Eastern Mirror Desk Dimapur, Nov. 28: The very purpose of introducing the widely-debated Nagaland Special Development Zone (NSDZ) way back in 2014 was to seek suggestions to help strike balance between protecting the rights of landowners while dragging an utterly dependent Nagaland economy to the doorsteps of self-sustenance, according to two of the prime figures behind the idea of NSDZ. The current Lok Sabha MP, Neiphiu Rio was the chief minister when the NSDZ was introduced inside the Assembly in 2014. The Chief Secretary, back then, was Alemtemshi Jamir – and both of them were part of a panel team to discuss on NSDZ at the ongoing trade expo at Agri Expo Dimapur on Tuesday. According to Rio, the state government has never sought to announce its adoption of the NSDZ at the Assembly as the final word. It had specifically motioned consultation with the stakeholders prior to the state government arriving at any final decision, he pointed out. “Because we thought we will give an opportunity to the landowners to decide,” he said while stressing the point that an unused plot of land will ‘remain nothing but as soil.’ but the same plot of land could be leased to investors, even non-Naga persons, after ensuring protection of the indigenous persons’ ownership of land. “If you think it (NSDZ) is good, then you can go ahead (and pursue it). But if not, you can reject it outright,” Rio told an audience of Naga entrepreneurs. Any relaxation of laws in order to accommodate the NSDZ would only be affected ‘in those areas with economic potentials’ along Nagaland’s foothills stretch. He insisted that those opposed to the NSDZ proposal need only to go through the Assembly resolution concerning NSDZ to understand that there was enough room to discuss the loopholes and come to a concrete policy. Former Chief Secretary, Alemtemshi Jamir, who had written the concept note of the NSDZ, also shared that the sole “concept of NSDZ was meant to safeguard the rights of the people over their land but at the same time make Nagaland compatible with the rest of the world.” Urbanisation, he reminded, was taking place regardless of the people of Nagaland liking it or not. “Capital investment is not available for starting of any industries. On the other hand, our children are growing in numbers so much so that there is extreme pressure on environment. “Almost 13 thousand young people are coming into the job market every year adding to the 75 thousand plus which are there (in the state). On the other hand when we look at the development models that people have conceived, we haven’t really moved forward since statehood. Our development concept, development model is still government oriented,” he pointed out. The people of Nagaland, he reasoned, must admit that they ‘have to industrialise’ one day or the other. “Then when we look at the urban conglomerations, we look at the mountain cities: Kohima, Mokokchung, Tuensang, it’s already reached carrying capacity. It cannot carry more than what it has today. “And therefore we have to think of another dynamic by which this urbanisation, industrialisation can be put and set up. And it should be set up in a place which will not be in contravention or in contradiction to the existing land laws,” he shared while casting light on the motives behind NSDZ. He reminded that the concept of NSDZ was not totally alien. “It is already happening here in Dimnapur for the last 54 years...why should we prevent second, third, fourth Dimapur to come up along the foothills?” But for any kind of investment, the Naga people would have to pay some collateral. “For investment, the collateral can only be land. And there is no country in the world who is going to give us free money for the start of industrialisation,” he said. The lone opposing view among the panel was the Nagaland Tribes Council’s representative, Theja Therieh. According to him, developmental proposals should not be detrimental to the basic fundamentals of the state and is citizens. “Article 371 (A) or the existing land and revenue laws can ever be considered impediment to development and if anyone has such misconception can land our people in danger,” he said. The concept of the NSDZ, in its current, form was ‘haphazard, shallow and self-defeating’, according to Therieh. “The NSDZ is supposed to be a prosperity programme for the state which can fetch maximum dividend without disturbing the protective laws, but some of the clauses are highly questionable. “One clause says that the land will be acquired for allotment to people from outside the state. This is not permissible in the Land Regulation Act of the state where land cannot be sold to any outsiders,” he said. He was of the view that the state government has failed to ‘create new laws to protect the ethnic rights of the indigenous people of the state or improvise existing laws that protect the same’. Therieh asserted that the NSDZ should not be in conflict with existing laws while suggesting that those same laws could be amended or modified. Salikyu Sangtam, a professor at St Jospeh University, Sovima, also supported the view that the benefits of NSDZ far outweigh the negative points. The Morung Express’ principal correspondent, Imkong Walling represented the objective voice among the panellists, and also managed to deliver the most sobering observation. “...neither will I dwell on the government’s declared intention nor will I speak on why and how it has attracted so much resistance… I’d rather choose to point out a couple things that have struck me as essential, and maybe, pose a couple of questions for everyone to take home and ponder over,” he began. The most basic question, he pointed out, was whether Nagaland was truly capable of supporting an infrastructure in the magnitude of the proposed NSDZ. Nagaland today cannot even provide proper road connectivity and power supply, he pointed out, while questioning whether it could sustain such a project that cannot be materialised without those two major requirements. “We do require industry and industrial growth. But to set that into motion we ought to have the basics in place. To have the basics in place, we need to build an environment conducive to a healthy rapport between the populace and the various arms of the government. To have that healthy rapport we need a populace that is supportive and proactive while ensuring that there are checks and balances at every level.”