By H H Mohrmen
The state government and the Congress party are moving from pillar to post to get the NGT ban revoked and the big question is why? Is it just the livelihood issue of those affected by the ban or is there something beyond what meets the eye? The Shillong Parliamentary Constituency MP too has made use of every trick in the book and everything within his power to get the ban lifted and to rein in the NGT. The Chief Minister had recently sent a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office requesting him to take the issue up with the President and exempt Meghalaya from the purview of the NGT. What has happened is too obvious for the lay person to not understand and to question the interest of the government and party in the entire imbroglio.
The leaders of the Congress and the government all went gung-ho to get rid of the NGT. Is this what the people of Meghalaya want? Is the government’s stand in the interest of the general public? Can the government claim that the anti-NGT stand that it has taken is the unanimous voice supported by all and sundry? Can they claim that they speak the common man’s voice? Certainly the people affected by polluted rivers would not agree with the government’s stance and certainly the government’s position does not have my support and that of many others like me who have expressed their views in this newspaper. I am sure we can say with authority that allowing unregulated mining is not in the interest of our children. In that case who will present our case with those in power in the country when our own government and representative are betraying us? We don’t have access to resources like the government has to visit Delhi and fight for our rights and we don’t have the influence to have an audience with those in the highest offices of the country, but be assured we also have complaints to make. But what shall the common people tell the President if they have an appointment to meet the person who occupies the highest offices in the country? What shall we tell the president?
Shall we tell the president that it looks like everybody in the Congress party from the Chief Minister to the President of the party and the MP are afraid of the National Green Tribunal and they had left no stone unturned to get rid of the Tribunal and want to have nothing to do with it in the future. Now the people of the state have every right to know why? Why is the government spending public money to travel to and from Shillong to Delhi to stop NGT from correcting the wrongs that the Congress party has encouraged all along? Isn’t it true that on the August 1 hearing of the NGT the Hon’ble Chairman of the tribunal had more than once asked the learned counsels who represented the State whether they agreed that mining in Meghalaya is unscientific, unregulated and therefore illegal? And shall we tell the President the truth that the learned counsels have more than once concurred to the fact that mining in Meghalaya is indeed unscientific, unregulated therefore illegal? Shall we tell the President that all the mine owners operate their business without any environment clearance and mining leases and the government remains a mute spectator while this systematic looting is going on in broad daylight?
Why is the state government avoiding the NGT? And on whose behalf did the MUA government act? Shall we tell the President that one would expect a democratic government to respect the rule of law and as the common refrain says ‘let the law take its own course.’ But the state instead of trying to spend its time and energy to counter the argument made in the complaint, has wasted sparse public resources and energy in trying to avoid the trial. Why can’t the government respect the rule of law and face the trial than reaching out to the PM and the President’s Offices in its efforts to bend rules?
Shall we tell the President that all the efforts to reach out to the high office in the country against the NGT ban is merely to cover up the mess that the Congress had made four decades ago? Isn’t it true that it was the Congress who (and still) allows this rampaging and looting to go out of hand?
Shall we tell the President that both the government, the Congress and the MP is on denial mode that in spite of the huge piles of scientific evidences available to prove that rat-hole mining has polluted water bodies and soil, yet they chose to turn their Nelson’s eye to a fact that is staring them in their faces? The State Forest and Environment Minister should be embarrassed at what he said in the interview with Aljazeera that mining has not affected the environment and was then proven wrong in the same story. Prestone Tynsong did not realize that Karishma Vyas and her team has visited Kharkhana village and seen with her own eyes the devastation that pollution has had on the rivers and had also interviewed the headman and people of the villages affected by polluted water.
Shall we tell the President that we are also very worried with our own MP for taking too much interest in lifting the NGT? It is not like Vincent H Pala does not know about the pollution of water bodies and soil in the coal mine areas. He is a face-booker politician and he must have occasionally surfed the Save the Caves and Rivers of Jaintia – Facebook page and read the posts. So he knows the extent of the damage. Then why is he still hell bent in fighting to lift the ban? Is he even concerned about the polluted waters and soil? Or does he see something else when everybody sees pollution and degradation?
Shall we tell the President that the attempt to exempt Meghalaya from the purview of the NGT is a dangerous move because it only seeks to cater to the interests of few people and the approach is not forward looking? In the absence of NGT, if in the future, industries and even governments violate environment or mining laws then what is the legal recourse left for the people to redress their grievances? We shall tell the President that people from the State are making the best use of the Tribunal and complaints with public interest were filed with the NGT, so there is no rhyme or reason for the government to exempt the State from its purview.
Shall we also tell the president that coal mine owners and leaders of the various organizations who represent them have no respect for the law? Everyday there are reports in the newspaper of coal trucks violating NGT ban if not for the prompt action of the police. Shall we also tell the president that we have information that in spite of the ban there are reports of mining going on in the remote areas of the State? The coal mine owners have no respect for the Judiciary. Hence in spite of the fact that the case is still pending in the Tribunal, they resorted to pressure tactics and took the matter to the streets. Why are we indulging in pressure tactics? Why can’t we allow the law to take its own course? And can we trust people who have no respect for the law of the land?
Shall we tell the President that coal was supplied because there were buyers and that we also have reports that industrial units (particularly cement plants in Jaintia hills) are still illegally procuring coal from the districts in spite of the fact that mining is banned. There are also reports of coal from Jaintia hills being illegally supplied for export to Bangladesh from Karimganj Assam.
Shall we tell the President that mining in the state has come to such a pass because of the failure of consecutive governments in the state (both the legislative and bureaucracy) to come up with mechanisms to protect the environment and to regulate mining? And yet they still have the audacity to approach the offices of the Prime Minister and President to complain against the NGT which is only telling them what they should have done 40 years ago. Shall we tell the President that we have our reasons to doubt our own government? And the state is not even taking the NGT ban as a wake-up call, but it instead tries to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Shall we tell the President that the NGT is only trying to pressure the state government to regulate mining and the government instead of coming up with appropriate mechanisms is instead wasting its time in trying to skirt the NGT order? And yes we the people have a right to take a counter complaint to the President pleading him not to succumb to the pressure but instead to allow the law to take its due course?
In short, we too shall seek audience with the President of India and brief him with the bare facts that our elected representatives have sought to cover up! Shame!