In unison with several civil society organisations and others opposing the election to the Urban Local Body (ULB), Nagaland Tribes Council (NTC) has appealed to the government to relook into the issues of taxation and reservation under Nagaland Municipal Act (NMA) 2001 as amended up to 2016.
A press release from the association on 26 March stated that ‘the NMA 2001 remains contentious’.
Noting that Article 371 (A) of the Constitution of India provides special legal status to Nagaland to enact laws in consonance with our customs and traditions, the organisation said that ‘Nagaland does not need to copycat such municipal laws framed and used by those municipalities having no political and legal status as ours’.
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It called to review Section 120 (1) (a) of the Municipal Act on land and building taxes and reframe ‘according to our local and traditional conveniences’.
Quoting Sec. 23B Reservation of offices of Chairpersons in Municipalities for SCs, STs, and Women, NTC said that ‘there is an indication that women reservation for chairpersons is reservation upon reservation’.
Nagaland is a Scheduled Tribe state. There is no provision for Schedule Caste tribe in the state of Nagaland and hence the very word ‘Scheduled Caste’ be completely removed from the aforesaid Act through legislation, it added.
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