KOHIMA, SEP 3:
Nagaland MLA Achumbemo Kikon on Thursday raised concerns in the Assembly over alleged oil survey and drilling activities in the Disputed Area Belt (DAB) along the Nagaland-Assam border.
Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton said the situation along the Disputed Area Belt (DAB) is now under control.
Raising the issue under Rule 54, Kikon said he had received a representation from Yanmhon Area Public Organisation dated August 31 objecting to alleged oil drilling works by ONGC near Lio Woka Oil, close to Hayiyan village under Bhandari subdivision in Wokha district.
Kikon said the site falls within his constituency and urged the government to ascertain whether the activity had obtained approval from the Nagaland government.
If not, he sought verification of the site by the competent authority and keeping the ongoing work in abeyance until the matter was resolved under the tripartite MoU between Nagaland, Assam and the Centre on survey, exploitation and extraction of crude oil and other minerals in the disputed belt.
He said the site was about half a kilometre from Lio Woka village and alleged that ONGC and other oil companies had started surveys and were looking for drilling points in the disputed area.
Kikon expressed concern that continued activity could result in oil deposits claimed to fall within Nagaland’s jurisdiction being extracted from the area.
He also raised the August 25 incident at Mekirang/Negheribil, where villagers from Longayim travelling with rubber saplings supplied by the Rubber Board of India were allegedly stopped at a barricade erected by the Assam Forest Department.
Kikon said the incident highlighted the difficulties faced by villagers in accessing the area and alleged that movement and right of way along the border were being hindered.
He also questioned the deployment of security and forest personnel in the DAB and sought to know whether Nagaland’s Forest Department was taking steps to deploy its personnel in the area.
Responding to the border incidents, Patton informed the House that a vehicle carrying rubber saplings to Longayim was stopped at the Assam Forest Department barricade on August 25. A scuffle broke out after people from the Assam side gathered at the spot, he said.
Border Magistrates from Nagaland and Assam subsequently reached the area and allowed the vehicle to pass after verifying that the saplings were intended for plantation at Longayim village and not at the evicted site, the DyCM said.
Patton said another confrontation occurred on August 26 when people residing near the evicted site gathered at the barricade. He said two Naga village leaders were allegedly attacked after being accused of responsibility for the previous day’s confrontation, while an office bearer of the Lotha Lower Range Public Organisation was also allegedly assaulted.
The alleged victims were advised to file an FIR, and the case was subsequently registered at Bhandari Police Station on August 27, Patton said.
The DyCM said the Wokha and Golaghat deputy commissioners later held a joint meeting, during which Nagaland conveyed that the movement of Naga villagers and the general public should not be obstructed as the road serves as a lifeline for border villages.
The two administrations agreed to activate the Border Level Peace Committee to improve coordination, maintain peace and prevent further incidents, he said.
“The situation is now under control,” Patton told the House.
Giving the background to the dispute, Patton said a joint eviction drive was conducted at Negheribil/Mekirang on August 8, 2025, during which 205 households were served eviction notices and 146 were evicted. Eviction of the remaining 59 households was kept on hold following a court order.
He said the Golaghat district administration and Assam Forest Department subsequently issued fresh eviction notices to the 59 households, but the Gauhati High Court, through an order dated August 18, 2026, granted a further 60-day extension.
Patton said the Nagaland government was closely monitoring developments in the disputed belt and coordinating with Assam authorities to prevent further confrontations.
He said mechanisms were also in place to ensure that any future eviction or plantation activity in the disputed area would not be undertaken unilaterally but through coordination between officials of Nagaland and Assam. (Source: PTI)
