Kohima, May 26: Caught on the wrong foot after international bidders as well as the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) refused to begin exploration work in the state, the Nagaland government today convened an emergency meeting on the issue.
However, the meeting ? chaired by chief minister Neiphiu Rio ? failed to arrive at a decision.
An oil exploration block in Mokokchung district is one of 24 being offered under the latest round of international competitive bidding.
Apart from international players, the ONGC and Oil India Ltd, too, are reportedly unwilling to deploy personnel in the insurgency-hit area.
?No decision was taken today as we have only begun the process to sort out the matter,? said geology and mining minister Kipili Sangtam. ?We have entrusted the secretaries with the job of looking into the matter,? he added.
The next meeting, likely in the first week of June, will include company representatives as well. The government is vacillating since the NSCN (I-M) and other armed outfits in the state as well as non-governmental organisations like the Naga Students? Federation have been opposed to oil exploration in the state.
Secondly, the government has complained that it has received insufficient royalty after allowing exploration in the past.
On the other hand, as Sangtam pointed out, the government is aware that foreign companies could make an entry into the state.
?Earlier, we got very little royalty, so we think that to decide anything without investigation would yield the same results,? said Sangtam.
Last year, after New Delhi announced plans to begin exploration in Nagaland, the NSCN (I-M) had made it clear that it would not allow it. The last attempt to explore for petroleum products in the area was nearly a decade ago.