By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Despite the rapid depletion of majority of the catchment areas across the State, the proposed amendment to the Meghalaya Protection of Catchment Areas Act, 1990 is still hanging fire for more than a year.
According to a senior official, the Planning Department, which is examining the proposed amendment, has held on to the file for over eight months now thus raising questions over the Government’s intentions to resolve the problem on an urgent basis.
Under the proposed amendment, the Government is planning to incorporate the provision for acquiring all the land that fall under the various catchment areas across the State.
“The Forest and Environment Department is in a dilemma since it wanted the proposed amendment to get the approval of the House at the earliest to enable the department exercise better control over the catchment areas,” the senior official said on condition of anonymity on Sunday while adding that it is mandatory that the proposed amendment has to be examined by the concerned departments before it is tabled before the Cabinet.
Informing that the Law department did not take so much time to examine the proposed amendment, the official said that the whole process got delayed after the matter reached the Planning department.
“Besides the Planning, the Finance department would also examine the file,” the official informed.
Official sources say that everyone is aware of the serious threat posed to drinking water resources by various human activities including rampant felling of trees, quarrying and mining along the catchment areas. However, the Government cannot put a blanket ban on these activities since the ownership of the land is with private parties.
Official sources also expressed concern over the rapidly deteriorating catchment areas along Lum Shyllong (Shillong Peak) and those around the Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme (GSWSS).
“These two catchment areas are very important since they are the only sources of drinking water for Shillong,” sources said.
Replying to a query, official sources said that the Government would take the land owners into confidence before acquiring the land along the catchments.
As of now, the State Government has an overall control only of the catchment areas which are under Reserved and Protected Forest.
Forest and Environment Minister Prestone Tynsong had also rued the fact that a large part of the catchment areas are owned by private parties over which the Government has no control.