THE latest drama about Government acquiring land on behalf of cement companies who have caused massive deforestation on account of limestone mining is weird logic. The Government will ostensibly use the land acquired for afforestation programmes. On the face of it, it appears like a harmless attempt to green degraded areas and to compensate for forested areas that have been lost to mining activities. But in Meghalaya we have first-hand experience of what happens to money allocated for such programmes. The bulk of the money goes into the pockets of Forest Department officials while forests are created on paper only. If mining of limestone has taken place in pristine forests with an eco-system of their own, can that eco-system be replicated elsewhere? The cement companies have been penalised after it was established beyond doubt by a high level inspection team that mining activities have been carried out in forested areas.
This issue is a very complex one. If the cement companies are mining in forested areas then they must have done so only after getting due clearance from the State Forest Department and also the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). Without that collusion the cement companies would not have got their clearance. So why are only cement companies being made to pay for their crimes? Are those who granted clearances not part of the nexus?
If cement companies are being made to pay for mining on forest land then what about the coal mine owners. They too are wilfully mining on forest land by manipulation. Why are no complaints being lodged against coal mine owners? They are equally responsible for depleting our eco-system of oxygen while leaving behind a lot of carbon debris. This cavalier attitude towards an issue concerning the environment and our own survival is unacceptable. Meghalaya needs a non-nonsense environmental NGO which will work single-mindedly on conservation and reclamation of abandoned mines etc., since the Government has evidently failed.
