By H H Mohrmen
It is indeed ironic that while I was on my way to take part in the celebration of the World Environment day and planting few saplings around the Sohkha Higher Secondary School, campus I also witnessed a brazen destruction of the environment near Amtapoh junction on the Amlarem Dawki road. Limestone mine owners in the area have caused the blatant violation of the law and destruction of the environment. In a situation like that one can’t help but wonder if what we are trying to do will even compensate for the damage that was done in one hour by the limestone miners in the Nongtalang area. It takes years for a sapling to grow into a tree but it takes just a moment for the machine to uproot a full grown tree and the overgrowth around it.
After the intervention by the Hon’ble High Court limestone mining was stopped for some time in the mining area at the Amalrem sub division; but after due deliberation the Court in its wisdom allowed the limestone mine owners to continue with their activities and to export the extracted mineral on the basis that limestone mining is a customary practice of the people in the region. The Court is considerate of the miners’ plight and accepted their plea that it was a customary practice of the people and allowed the miners to continue with the traditional practice. Indeed, limestone mining in the area would have been a sustainable activity and there would not have been any hue and cry against it as such, had we continued with the traditional system. But what is happening now in the limestone mining area of Nongtalang and Satpator area of Amlarem sub division is in stark contrast to what it is meant to be and the mining in the area is everything except customary.
An environmentalist from Delhi who visited the area recently was taken aback by what she had seen all along the Amtapoh Nongtalang portion of the Jowai Dawki road. She called me and questioned as to how we could allow this to happen. The New York Times which carried a story on the limestone mining in the Nongtalang area few years back calls it a mining system where the entire hill is gouged out for selfish ends. The magnitude of the damage that has been done to the environment is so extensive that only those who have visited the area would be able to comprehend it. The damage is enormous and the sheer size of the destruction would not have been possible if mining is carried out as per customary practice.
Forests have been cleared, trees uprooted and where there was once a hillock we now see a chasm and where it was shallow we now see hillocks. This had happened because there is no authority to regulate and monitor this activity. In the absence of any regulation people can do whatever they like without any inhibition. There were limestone quarries very close to the National Highway 44 (E) and one can now see a chasm where there was none earlier which also poses a threat to the passersby. There are also no guidelines on how to put aside the top soil removed during mining so that it can be used later on. Mining is random and haphazard with no consideration of how to take care of the precious top soil. This continues till date and even after the Hon’ble Court’s intervention mining practice in the area is not as per customary practice as ordered by the Court. The question is whether the Court can pass an order without inspecting ground realities and only by listening to lawyers pleading on behalf of the miners.
How can mining using huge chain excavators be called a customary practice? Since when did our ancestors start using heavy machines as their mining tools while mining limestone? The mere use of huge machines in the mining process proves beyond any doubt that limestone mining in the area is not as per customary practices anymore. If mining had continued as a customary practice one would not expect the use of any machine (not to mention monstrous machines) but instead more human labour would have been used as practiced by our ancestors since time immemorial, but that was not to happen.
If the limestone mine owner would have continued mining as per customary practice as directed by the Court, it would have been a sustainable practice and the activity would continue for years to come and more importantly the impact on the environment will also be less damaging. On the contrary since the miners use heavy machines and even used explosives, the damage to the environment is enormous and rampant and could very well be beyond repair too. Unlike the customary practice, the present mining system is not sustainable and very soon minerals will exhaust and leave behind barren, desolate land in the area. If the limestone miner would have continued with the traditional practice it would not only be sustainable but many more people would have to be involved in the mining activity. Traditional mining would have involved and benefited a large number of people instead of using monstrous machines which ultimately benefit the rich people who give out machines on hire to the miners in Nongtalang and other places.
Excavators are hired at around Rs 60,000-70,000 per machine per month. Add to that the salary of the operator which will be between thirty and forty thousand rupees per month and money is concentrated in a few hands only. Machines also cause maximum damage to the environment in a short period of time when compared with customary practices which only use human hands. And had we continued with customary mining we would also have had to involve maximum number of labour instead of machines. Ultimately the locals would have benefited. But good sense is yet to prevail amongst the mining operators and people continue using huge machines in spite of this being illegal as per the recent court order.
Despite the Court the miners still use heavy machines and illegal explosives to extract limestone in the Nongtalang and Satpator area of Amlarem Sub division. It is ironic that it was the limestone miners themselves who had pleaded with the court to allow them to continue their activity since it was a customary practice and when the Court granted their plea, the same miners do not comply with the orders and continue to violate the court order blatantly.
We therefore request the High Court to see that there is no violation of its order and that the order is obeyed in letter and spirit. If the mining is to continue as per customary practice then all chain and heavy excavators are to be removed from the mining site, because the machines have no business being there when the mining is supposed to be carried on as a customary practice as per the court order. The people of Meghalaya particularly those involved in the mining business are known to have penchant for violating the law. And even as we read this piece even coal trucks continue to transport coal from coal mine areas to Guwahati or other destinations in total violation of the law. Even with regard to limestone mining the mineral is exported to Bangladesh even when the weighbridge in the area is not operating, The question is how is the limestone weighed? Ultimately one hopes that the miners will respect the law and after all it was on their plea that the Court has been lenient. One hopes that they continue mining according to customary practice both in letter and spirit.