The Senior Citizens Association of Nagaland (SCAN) on Tuesday has revealed that the establishment of Forest Department within the Intangki National Park has been taken over and was under complete control of the NSCN-IM.

SCAN alleged that the State government was well aware of the activities taking place in Intangki; however, till date it has failed to take any proactive steps in preventing the NSCN-IM from encroaching upon Intangki National Park.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday at Ura Hotel, Kohima, SCAN Spokesperson K K Sema said rumours had been doing the rounds since mid-2019 that the managerial establishment of the Forest Department in Intangki National Park including the staff quarters of the department were under complete control of NSCN-IM.

Disturbed by such floating information, SCAN felt the need to act responsibly for the sake of the future generation and pursued the matter, Sema stated.

He said the Association filed an RTI with the Public Information Officer (PIO), Interlocutor & Governor’s Secretariat. The Raj Bhavan then redirected the RTI to the chief secretary of Nagaland who further forwarded the same to the PIO, EF & CC Department.

On receipt of the RTI of SCAN, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest & Head of the Forest Force further redirected the RTI to the Chief Wildlife Warden, Nagaland, Dimapur and on 12 October 2020, the director of Intangki National Park furnished a “vague evasive” reply to the RTI questionnaires.

Sema said the office of the Chief Information Commissioner took the initiative by bringing the Forest department and SCAN for a face-to-face hearing on 7 September 2022 to review the unresolved pending issue.

The Association claimed that during the hearing, the Forest Department confirmed that the NSCN-IM had taken over full control of the forest department’s Intangki establishment.

“The Forest department had made a very clear unambiguous statement that by the early 1993 and 1994 onwards, the forest department personnels posted at Intangki [and] families, they were all being harassed by the NSCN-IM cadres. It was a consistent thing and things started getting more perpetuated after the ceasefire. The government servants of the forest department that were posted in Intangki, they were unable to bear the pressure of the kind of threat that were personally given to individuals and their family, and so one by one the forest staff, officers and the rangers and the rest of the infrastructural ministerial staff, they all left their place of posting out of fear.”

Sema said the employees posted at Intangki had made a point to report the matter to their immediate higher ups but no direct instruction has come from the state government neither has the government taken any action to make the NSCN-IM stop the threat exercises.

The Association slammed the state government for their inaction and for allowing the whole situation to continue as it is. To this, Sema said the state government is compromising for a political solution.

He stated that the NSCN-IM in their competency clauses may not have sought for occupation of the National Park but it has been made clear that their intention is to take over Intangki for rehabilitation after the final solution.

“IM intention has been put into practice where they are actually in physical occupation of Intangki,” Sema added.

The Association further disclosed that the forest department officials had to seek permission from the NSCN-IM to carry out their duties inside Intangki National Park. It also alleged that the NSCN-IM has been carrying out logging activities inside the park.

The Association asserted that it believes this is not an issue for compromise, but an issue that justifies appropriate uprising from all sections of the population from Nagaland.