Cement plants cause more damage to environment than coal mining
SHILLONG: The Jaintia Durbar on Tuesday asked the National Green Tribunal to review its order imposing a ban on coal mining activities in Meghalaya and prayed to the Tribunal to allow resumption of mining activities with certain stipulations that would ensure protection to the environment.
In a memorandum submitted to the Chairman of the NGT, general secretary of the Durbar, Barding Sari, said the ban has affected the economy and livelihood of all those people who are dependent on mining for their livelihood.
Contesting the claim that coal mining activities in East Jaintia Hills District was having a negative effect on the land and people of Dima Hasao District in Assam, Sari claimed that the presence of as many as nine cement factories in an area spanning nine sq. km in East Jaintia Hills had a greater environmental impact on neighbouring Bangladesh.
Sari also dismissed the presence of any coal mafia in Jaintia Hills. The mining community in Jaintia Hills constitutes a small section of the population who are trying to adhere to specifications and prescriptions for proper mining in the area of deposits.