After more than a year of a wrangling in the Supreme Court the French cement giant Lafarge has won the case against its complainants consisting mainly of people who apparently did not benefit from the land compensation paid by the Company. The only way their lawyers could argue their case in court was to bring in the environment factor and claim that limestone mining was happening in forest land and that Lafarge got post facto clearance from the Forest Department for its mining activities. This case is a fit lesson for Meghalaya to learn.
It is indeed shameful that the issue of forest conservation has been dragged in for a very personal interest. The apex court ruling was based on sound understanding of the ground realities obtaining in Meghalaya. In a pointed observation the learned judges said that limestone has always been mined in Meghalaya before even Lafarge came into the scene. How is it that no one raised any bugle call before that mining is happening in forest land? Why only Lafarge has been pilloried? The Company had in fact followed all the directives given by the Supreme Court, one of which is to deposit a certain sum of money as compensation to be ploughed back to the communities living around the limestone mines of Nongtrai and Shella for their welfare. The fund is presently in the custody of the Government and it is being overseen by a Committee headed by the Chief Secretary and comprising various other stakeholders and also an NGO representative.
Can we say the same about the coal mine owners? Have they ever shown any corporate social responsibility? Have they built or maintained even a single road considering they are the optimum users of roads?
Then we have the exploitative cement companies in Jaintia Hills whose activities are far more harmful. What contributions have they made to the State exchequer? On the contrary they get all the tax concessions from Meghalaya even while they transport the bulk of their products outside. It is a shame that there is no group or NGO to take this matter to the apex court since the environment is more despoiled by coal mining than by Lafarge which observes a very high standard of quality control.