Photo Courtesy: ukhrultimes
Kohima: The Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) have formally rejected a new tripartite Memorandum of Understanding intended to facilitate mineral oil exploration across the Assam-Nagaland border. The agreement, signed by the governments of Nagaland, Assam, and the Union of India in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah, aims to boost energy production and investment in the Northeast region.
Government officials have framed the deal as a historic step for regional development. According to the Press Information Bureau, the federal government stated, "The vast reserves of oil, gas, and minerals available in Nagaland will help reduce India's dependence on foreign sources for oil and gas." The initiative is part of a broader strategy to prioritize the Northeast in the national economic agenda.
The NNPGs contend that any extraction of natural resources remains illegal until a final Indo-Naga political settlement is achieved. They point to an Agreed Position signed in November 2020 by their Working Committee and the Government of India, which stipulates that the ownership and transfer of land and its mineral resources must be governed by the Nagaland Tatar Hoho.
Representatives for the NNPGs asserted that the current revenue-sharing model between Nagaland and Assam benefits only a select few rather than the general population. They argued that because Assam does not share its own oil revenues, the same standard should apply to Nagaland. The group maintains that energy companies, such as Oil India Limited and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, could become viable partners only after a legitimate political resolution is reached.
The NNPGs are now calling on the central government to clarify the timeline for finalizing the Indo-Naga political settlement. They emphasized that the Naga people hold the inherent capacity to contribute to India's strategic goals but require official recognition of their history and identity first.
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