Proposal to buy, use land for afforestation programme
SHILLONG: After as many as nine cement companies operating in Jaintia Hills were found to have violated provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the said companies have now agreed to buy double of the land misused by them and subsequently use them as part of afforestation programmes.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Forest and Environment Minister Prestone Tynsong informed that the cement companies were willing to compensate for the loss of forest and have submitted an application in this regard.
Despite the intention of the cement companies, the proposed afforestation programme would not be able to materialize due to the fact that the companies are disallowed from purchasing land in view of the Land Transfer Act.
To mitigate this problem, the State Government has come out with a mechanism of a ‘tripartite agreement’ to avoid any confusion to enable the cement companies to buy land for the proposed afforestation. The proposed agreement is yet to be approved by the State Cabinet.
As per the first Joint Inspection Team (JIT) report, 1600 hectares of forest land were misused by nine cement companies. The JIT report was approved by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest.
The State Government had constituted the JIT in February last year comprising of the State Chief Conservator of Forests, TTC Marak, and Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests’ Regional Office, BN Jha, to verify allegations that the cement companies in Jaintia Hills had flouted environmental norms and had set up their plants in forest areas.
According to Tynsong, since the first JIT could not complete the inspection of the whole area, a second JIT was formed, reports of which has also been submitted to the Ministry.
The nine erring companies are Adhunik Cement Limited, Amrit Cement Industries Limited, Cement Manufacturing Company Limited, Cosmos Cement Limited, Green Valley Industries Limited, Goldstone Cement Limited, Hills Cement Company Limited, JUD Cements Limited and Meghalaya Cement Limited.