In a significant development, Bhandari District Demand Committee (BDDC) and Lower Lotha Oil and Mineral Bearing Zone Association (LLOMBZA) have demanded creation of Bhandari district as well as to expedite the amendment of NPNG Rules and Regulations 2012 pertaining to oil exploration and operations.
The demands were contained in a memorandum submitted to the chief minister, T.R. Zeliang when a joint delegation met the latter at his residence office Friday, stated a communiqué issued by the CMO’s media cell. The two organisations justified the demand for creation of Bhandari district on the ground of problems of road accessibility, administrative convenience and backwardness of the areas.
In response, the chief minister assured the delegation that he would look into the matter after studying a report from a verification team. Zeliang supplemented the demand by stressing on the need to open up the mineral resource-stacked Bhandari to a new horizon of development and also considering the border problem with Assam, lack of road and communication accessibility and economic disadvantage.
Zeliang urged upon the delegation to convince those sections of people who had reservations about the agreement for exploration and exploitation of mineral resources (NPNG Rules and Regulations), so that it would benefit the people of the state. Zeliang also informed the delegation about the productive negotiations being held between the state government and Centre on the constitutional legality, modalities and share ratio between stakeholders, worked out for exploration of petroleum and natural gas in the state. He however, regretted that such endeavour was put on halt due to PIL filed in the court.
In this regard, Zeliang requested the delegation to discuss the matter among themselves, so that the matter could be amicably settled outside the court.
CMO also provided data to highlight the importance of the oil bearing area – Bhandari- which has a total area of 778.74 Sq.kms with 73 villages and lies 70 kms away from Wokha district Hqs. “Though the Lothas are the main inhabitants of the state’s oldest sub-division, there are sizable presence of Sumi and Karbi populations,” it said. Till today, the government has declared it as ‘Economically and Developmentally Backward Area since 1983, CMO stated.