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Dimapur, July 23 (EMN): Nagaland University, Kohima campus, conducted a two-day in-house training for Group A and section officers on July 18 with assistant professor of Kohima Law College and president of Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO), Kezhokhoto Savi, as the speaker.
An update from NVCO stated that Savi dwelled on various parliament acts such as the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which the state government was yet to implement. The NVCO president pointed out that even Nagaland University was yet to change the syllabus on consumer protection to the latest Act of 2019 and that this has compelled the three law colleges in the state to follow the Act of 1986, which has become outdated.
On the position of Human Rights in the state, he said till the Armed Forces (Special Power) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) remains in force, there could be no hope for restoration of human rights in the state.
Besides, he claimed that the state government has till date “terribly failed to set up State Human Rights Commission in Nagaland.
Highlighting on Right to Information Act, 2005, Savi said that awareness is still lacking among the general populace and cited instances of some village authority/ council adopting resolutions not to allow any citizen of their village to apply RTI without the permission of village authority or council.
The NVCO president said such resolutions are “illegal” and as per the RTI Act, it clearly provided that any citizen in the country could apply RTI to any department or government.
He maintained that there are cases where concerned department had taken advantage of such illegal resolutions in order to avoid furnishing documents to applicants and even gone to the extent of summoning both the RTI applicant and village authority to their office.
“These kinds of illegal resolutions taken by village authority/ council are happening just because of huge indulging of corruption meant for village development,” Savi said.
Savi also highlighted on the National Food Security Act and Food Safety Standard Act and also Lokayukta, which are “not doing well in the state.” He accused the state government of purposely not taking initiative in appointment of Lokayukta, who should be either a retired judge of Supreme Court or retired Chief Justice of High Court.
The training was coordinated by joint registrar of NU, Kohima campus, Shyien Vihienuo.