The Naga National Political Groups (NNPG), an umbrella body of seven Naga organisations, on Friday, 12 June formally opposed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Centre, Assam, and Nagaland to facilitate mineral oil operations along the Assam-Nagaland inter-state border. The group declared any resource extraction in Naga areas before a formal political settlement to be “illegal and against the agreed principles.”

What the MoU Entails

The agreement was signed in New Delhi on Thursday, 11 June, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio. Shah stated that the MoU would unlock significant opportunities for oil and natural gas exploration and mineral mining, and described it as a step toward realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a prosperous, economically vibrant Northeast.

The Home Minister noted that current extraction capacity of approximately 1,000 to 1,500 barrels per day in the boundary areas has the potential to increase more than tenfold in the coming years. He added that both states had agreed not to allow any impediment to India’s oil exploration efforts and would advance on the path of mutual cooperation, as these resources constitute part of the nation’s wealth.

NNPG’s Legal and Political Objections

The NNPG grounded its opposition in the ‘Agreed Position’ signed between the Working Committee of the NNPGs and the Centre on 17 November 2017. According to the group, that document explicitly states that “ownership and transfer of land and its resources, both man-made and natural, including mines and minerals, fossil fuels, petroleum and natural gas and any new finds, and Nagaland shall be the apex body to legislate.”

The NNPG argued that the “status paper” agreed upon implies a post-solution Nagaland government and that no extraction can legally proceed before a formal political settlement is signed. The group further warned it would ensure, “peacefully or otherwise,” that no company—national or international—extracts crude petroleum reserves from Naga soil before such a settlement is reached.

Revenue-Sharing Arrangement Questioned

The group also challenged the rationale of any revenue-sharing arrangement involving Nagaland’s natural resources. In its statement, the NNPG said: “Revenue sharing between Nagaland and Assam, or with any other state, is a profit motive of a few and not in the interest of the Nagas.” It questioned why Nagaland should share revenues from its resources with Assam when Assam does not reciprocate with its own oil revenues.

The NNPG also affirmed that opposition voiced by various Naga tribes and civil society organisations against oil exploration under the current circumstances is justified. This comes amid a decades-long peace process between Naga political groups and the Centre that has yet to produce a final, publicly declared settlement.

A Path Forward, Conditionally

Despite its firm opposition, the NNPG signalled openness to future collaboration. The group stated that prospecting firms and energy companies could become “reliable partners of the Naga people in the post-settlement period” once a political solution is formally concluded. The statement closed with a pointed question directed at the Centre: “When will the Government of India officially sign and declare the Naga political settlement after having acknowledged and appreciated Naga history and identity?”

The standoff underscores the unresolved tension between the Centre’s development agenda for the Northeast and the pending Naga political process—a resolution of which remains without a publicly confirmed timeline.