The debate how to allocate natural resources still raging, the northeastern states face more challenges—challenges posed by big dams and river linking. While the Union Government has turned its eyes to this most resource-rich landscape but largely untapped region in the country, communities now find themselves in a quandary. Communities want recognition of their ownership over coal, forests and oil–the three ‘nationalized’ resources. Now there is another entrant—water. Tribal communities in Nagaland and Meghalaya are approaching courts to protect their rights over oil and coal and those in Mizoram, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh are struggling to retain control over their forests. In Assam, the protests are over big dams and the river interlinking. Read more
Courtesy: Assam Times