By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Deputy Chief Minister B M Lanong has come out in support of cement plants in the mineral-rich Jaintia Hills district saying at least 4-5 cement plants do not pollute rivers and their operations are confined to non-agricultural bushy areas.
Lanong, who is also the in-charge of mining and geology department, instead put the blame on unscientific mining of coal which led to the death of fish in rivers of Jaintia Hills.
The Deputy Chief Minister along with some Government officials recently inspected five cement plants in the district.
Talking to media persons here on Tuesday, Lanong said, “These plants don’t discharge effluents into the rivers but are contained within the premises of the industrial units.”
According to him, the cement plants are doing open cast mining to extract lime stone which is different from the coal mining.
The minister’s statement is in contrast to the report of the government-constituted High Level Committee (HLC) which indicted cement companies last year for violating the Forest Rights Act, 1980.
“The Forest department has also given due permission to cement plants since they do their mining in a place which is neither an agricultural area nor a dense forest,” Lanong said.
The Deputy Chief Minister, however, refused to admit that he was giving a clean chit to these cement companies which have allegedly flouted the norms of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
The government, which termed the HLC report as inconclusive, had constituted another joint committee to reverify the findings of the HLC.
Last year, an NGO, the Jaintia Youth Front (JYF) had petitioned in the Supreme Court on the need of the latter’s intervention to stop cement companies from exploiting limestone in Jaintia Hills district which they alleged, the mining area is a ‘forest land’.
“Even the local people and headmen’s welcome the industrial activities in their area since it has improved their economic condition,” Lanong told reporters.