In a four page memorandum submitted to the visiting 13th Finance Commission to the state, the UNDSP president, N Ntsemo Ngullie, while highlighting the condition of the Nagas, said that the Nagas in fact are hardworking, energetic, imaginative, and can play any role in any organisation of the world. However, he lamented that the Naga areas have been divided into so many sectors like Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar and China.
“Therefore, it is necessary to unify these people based on historical facts. By doing so, it is hoped that peace and development activities will speed up in the State without hindrances from various quarters,” the UNDSP president asserted. In this connection, the UNDSP maintained that the allocation of funds should not be based on population and area, instead it should be on “need base”, since Nagaland state is known as a political state formed out of the agreement between the Government of India and the Nagas and that a separate constitutional provision for the state of Nagaland was enshrined in the Constitution of India to look into the peculiar socio-economic and political needs of the state.
However, the UNDSP stated, there is no development in sectors like industry, agriculture, etc., and that businessmen are also not willing to invest their money due to the prolonged insurgency problem. “The alternative is Government to invest and allocate more funds for developing the state,” the UNDSP stated. In this regard, the Party stated that the state of Nagaland needs the blessing and sympathy of the 13th Finance Commission given the present economic, socio and political conditions.
“Until and unless your generous allocation of fund is extended, it is difficult to run the Government. Therefore, UNDSP suggest that special allocation should be given to the Nagaland state,” the party implored. Besides, the Party also expressed its belief that there is a system breakdown in the country which needs to be revived so that India can survive as a nation. To check corruption in the tribal area where people do not pay income tax, the party suggested the evolving of a system to detect corruption.
“As long as corruption prevails, the Nation cannot survive and mutual trust and confidence among each other will be lost,” the UNDSP stated. Also, asserting that the ‘Financial Commissions’ and Planning Commission are interrelated, the party also highlighted some points as to why the Planning Department of the Government of India should not seriously look into the development activities for the state of Nagaland.
In this regard, the UNDSP stated that Nagaland is surrounded by unfriendly neighbouring countries and also agitating states like Assam and Manipur who are against the Nagas and are forcibly taking Naga forests and lands leaving no plain areas left to the Nagas to cultivate.
It also highlighted that Nagaland has enough potential for economic development and that it is rich in mineral resources which could not be explored due to lack of communication. It maintained that Nagaland government and the government of India are busy in dealing with the “Naga Undergrounds” for over sixty years and no funds were spared for the development activities. Most of the development funds have been diverted for fighting the Naga insurgents and which in turn have slowed down all the development activities or have kept them in pending, it added.
In this regard, the UNDSP stated that for extraction of minerals, good communication and roads are needed. The Party stated that since air and waterways cannot be made possible in the area, it suggested opting for a cheaper transport which is railways, the party maintained. Besides this, the UNDSP also suggested the opening of roads to link the state with other Southeast Asian countries.