GUWAHATI Article 371A of the Constitution of India has been the major hurdle in the Nagaland government’s efforts to regulate small-scale illegal coal mining activities in the State.
Specific to Nagaland, Article 371A has special provisions guaranteeing the protection of land and its resources apart from the Naga customary law and procedure.
The coalition government headed by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has been under pressure to regulate coal mining activities after six miners died in an explosion in a rat-hole mine near Ruchyan village in the Wokha district on January 25.