Peren district CSOs ask government to disband Nagaland Timber Traders’ Union

Dimapur, May 3 (EMN): The civil society organisations (CSOs) of Peren district has urged the government of Nagaland and Union Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change to immediately disband the Nagaland Timber Traders’ Union (NTTU), accusing it of illegally extracting timbre for years before Peren district CSOs stepped in.

The CSOs of Peren district said this in a press statement, issued a day after the NTTU imposed an indefinite economic blockade on Peren district on two main Dimapur-Peren routes over the impasse between the two parties.

While accusing the NTTU of trying to forcibly harass the citizens of Peren district by imposing economic blockade in order to continue “their illegal timber extraction”, the CSOs said that it will never succumb to any pressure tactics of those wanting to amass wealth through rampant deforestation.

“The NTTU repeatedly mentioned in their press statement about Working Schemes in Peren district. The mentioned three Working Schemes exist only on paper because the respective village councils of Working Schemes areas have duly certified in writing that there is not a single tree left the on ground in demarcated Working Scheme areas left to be extracted. The same documents are in the hands of the department (Forest) and other concerned authorities,” read the press statement.

While warning the Forest department to undertake spot verification before extending any “working scheme”, the CSOs said the state department and the Central Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change should also take note of illegal timber extraction in Senapati and Tamenglong districts of Manipur and Dimahasao district of Assam, besides Peren, allegedly by the NTTU. On this, it claimed that it has the operating or sale agreements.

“The decision of CSOs to allow sawn timber out of the District for time being was on humanitarian ground  and to ensure that no fresh cutting of trees are done henceforth and not on any intention as alleged by NTTU. The department of Forest and Environment should ensure from now on that no illegal extraction whether round logs or sawn timber are allowed out of the district,” it stated. 

Maintaining that it won’t tolerate the economic blockade imposed by NTTU for “stopping their illegitimate activities”, the CSOs asked the state government to immediately lift the blockade.

It warned that “any eventualities resulting from this blockade will be the sole responsibility of the state government and its machineries”.