GUWAHATI: Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia has urged the Assembly Speaker to urgently lead an all-party delegation of legislators on a fact-finding tour of eco-sensitive zones, which he claimed, might be affected by the Centre’s move to allow fresh mining and drilling activities.
In a letter to Speaker, Hitendra Nath Goswami on Monday, Saikia stated that the government’s new mining policy had led to adverse reactions and protests from the common people of Assam.
“The central government had recently eased laws pertaining to protection of the environment in order to exploit natural resources without hindrance. However, the earlier law had mandated public hearings before permitting new mining/drilling activity in eco-sensitive zones,” he stated in the letter.
“The central government recently amended the relevant law and included extraction of oil, natural gas, coal, etc in the ‘B2’ category solely to avoid holding of public hearings,” Saikia stated.
The leader of the Opposition stated that the immediate intervention of elected members of the House had become imperative because this sensitive issue would have considerable impact on the political, economic and social scenario of Assam in the times to come.
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