Kohima: The Senior Citizens’ Association of Nagaland (SCAN) on Tuesday questioned the state government’s silence over the “siege” of the 202.02 sq km Intangki National Park at Peren by the Isak-Muivah-led Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM).
Intangki which is located near Hebron Camp, was declared a reserved forest on May 7, 1923, and was later upgraded to a national park on March 3, 1993. It comes under the Nagaland Forest Act 1968, Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and various administrative government orders.
Addressing a press conference in Kohima, spokesperson Khekiye Sema informed that in 2019, SCAN took action and filed one RTI to the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Governor’s Secretariat at Raj Bhavan after rumours that the managerial establishment of the state’s Forest Department at the Intangki National Park (INP) including the staff quarters, was taken over and fell under complete control of NSCN (IM).
Sema said that in 1993-94, the NSCN-IM cadres began to harass the forest personnel who were posted at Intangki and things perpetuated after the signing of the ceasefire between NSCN-IM and the Centre in 1997. The department personnel, including its officers posted at the national park, were “harassed” and asked to vacate by the NSCN-IM cadres, following which the state government employees gradually vacated the area despite no vacation orders or directives from the government.
To ascertain facts, SCAN lodged an RTI with the Governor’s office on September 14, 2020, with the hope that the Raj Bhavan would influence the concerned department to provide a truthful response to the questions raised.
Subsequently, the Raj Bhavan redirected the RTI to the Chief Secretary of the state on September 15, 2020, who then forwarded it to the PIO, Environment Forest & Climate Change (EF &CC) Department on September 18, 2020.
Further, the Principal Chief Conservator of the Forest & Head of the Forest Force redirected the RTI to the Chief Wildlife Warden in Dimapur on September 24, 2020. Later on October 12, 2020, the Director of Intangki National Park furnished a vague evasive reply to the RTI questionnaires.
The findings of the RTI, Sema said, confirmed that NSCN (IM) has taken over full control of the Forest Department’s Intangki establishment but provided “misleading and incomplete” answers. Unsatisfied with the response furnished by the PIO, SCAN submitted a complaint to the National Information Commission on March 22, 2021.
Later on April 8, 2021, the Commission advised the complainants to submit the first appeal to the state’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forest & Head of Forest Force. With no response from both parties, the Commission decided to hear the complaint on September 7, 2022, at the hearing room of the NIC, with both parties—SCAN and forest department officials, in attendance.
Sema told reporters that the hearing convened by the chief information officer propelled the senior citizens’ body to pursue the matter.
He questioned the inaction of the government as forest personnel posted at Intangki were threatened and forcefully vacated from the establishments. As per law, once a piece of forest land is declared as a reserved forest, the land becomes the property of the government.
However, as the forest is occupied by NSCN-IM, he said that departmental officers also require prior permission to enter the property. Despite “serious deforestation and logging” at the National park, he said no surveillance of the forest by government officials is made due to entry restrictions made by the present occupants. Interestingly, no environmental clearance was also issued by the government to the NSCN-IM.
Pointing out that the government is sitting complacently over the matter even though it is “well aware”, he questioned if Nagas fought over the past decades to lose over the little it has. The state government, he said, is only ensuring that one faction of the Naga political groups is getting the “privilege beyond their requirement”. To this, Sema questioned the intention of the government.
SCAN is of the view that the final solution to the Naga political issue must be fair and square for all Nagas no matter where they are. In the absence of sovereignty and integration, they said that Nagas in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh will get their share of privileges for their self-dependence through their Autonomous Regional Territorial Council and Nagas of Nagaland must also have the same uncontaminated privileges without any interference from beyond the present boundary of the State.
“The State of Nagaland cannot whimsically be converted into a make-believe “Naga Nation” without integration and sovereignty, for all Nagas from everywhere to share equal rights with the Nagas of Nagaland while enjoying their exclusive privileges in their own State(s) at the same time in the absence of sovereignty and integration,” representatives of SCAN said in a statement.
Ignorant of the competencies and the negotiations, Sema said that Nagas are handing its future to the NSCN-IM and expects the people to have faith in it. The Pan Naga Hoho and the “Naga Nation” without integration, he said, will witness the rights of Nagas of Nagaland being shared with Nagas outside the state who will continue to have their exclusive rights in their states.
Further questioning if this situation will be fair for the Nagas of Nagaland, he urged the need to build public pressure for the state government to act and for the NSCN-IM to come to a realization. If no response is received, the Senior Citizens, as rightful citizens of the state, he said, will take legal recourse.
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