The Wasteland Atlas of Meghalaya 2005-06 published by the Department of Land Resources, Government of India based on LISS III satellite Images 2005-06 shows that Meghalaya has a total of 3865.76 sq km of wasteland which is 17.24 % of its geographical area. These wastelands are classified as land with open scrub measuring – 2640.10 sq km, land under shifting cultivation – 291.87 sq km, barren rocky stony waste – 255.13 sq km, abandoned jhum land – 157.12 sq km and land with dense scrub – 454.43 sq km.
The Atlas reveals that West Khasi Hills has the highest measure of degraded land at 1005.12 sq km followed by Jaintia hills at 968.32 sq km. Intensive coal mining without any environmental compliance from the mine owners to restore the empty mines is what has turned these erstwhile green covers into degraded lands. Now these have become a liability for the State Government. In no other state would private mine owners be able to shelve their social and environmental responsibilities and pass this onus to the Government. It is uncanny that in a state where ‘land is said to belong to the people,’ those people only know to claim their rights but have no understanding of what responsibility means.
The Integrated Basin Development and Livelihoods Programme (IBDLP) has now stepped into this critical space with the intention of rejuvenating these degraded lands through a series of interventions in collaboration with external funding agencies like the World Bank and also by tapping into the Wasteland Development Board. Ironically, successive governments have not paid any attention to this grave issue. If 17.24 % of land is no longer cultivable and does not support a healthy, bio-diverse eco-system then there are reasons to worry. It means food production avenues would dwindle, water catchments would dry up and wild life too would be on the decrease. In fact, animals like the Hoolock Gibbons which once populated the forests of Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills are now a rare species. It is unfortunate that those in charge of our forests and wild life see no danger signs in this unfolding environmental catastrophe. Hopefully these spaces will be re-afforested sooner than later.
