By H. H. Mohrmen
The Congress-led government in Meghalaya is in a dilemma to say the least. The MUA-II government is like a rudderless ship in the middle of the ocean with a captain who is unsure of himself. The worst part of the predicament is that the captain has only about fourteen months to take the ship to shore and get it anchored there before beginning another journey. Throughout the less than four- year journey the captain had to continuously keep the ship afloat in spite of internal wrangling among crew members. Add to that the state of the economy is like a dark cloud that looms large and threatens to open the sky and bring down a rain and storm.
One was hoping that Dr Sangma like an able captain would be able to provide a road map and show us where he plans to take the state if his party is elected to power again post the 2018 election. Unfortunately from the reports in the press one could only see a confused government which wants to do everything and ends up not being able to do anything at all. One sees a government that tries to please everybody and is ultimately not able to please anyone not even itself.
On one hand one sees a government under pressure from the State Coordination Committee of Coal Owners, Miners and Dealers Forum and the Jaintia Cement Manufacturing Association both of which are insistent that the NGT should lift the ban on coal mining in the state. And the government is committing itself to come up with a mining plan to convince the NGT to lift the ban on rat- hole mining in the state. One also see a government which is trying to please the mining lobby by demanding that the State of Meghalaya is exempted from the purview of the Coal Mine (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 by taking an extreme step of even invoking Paragraph 12A (b) of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to enable the state to have a free for all mining in the state yet again.
It is also true that the government has not taken the other stakeholders (other than those involved in mining) into confidence while drafting the mining plan because none of them was involved in the process. The other question that begs the answer is how is the government going to assure us that the mining plan and all the efforts that the government has taken to get the ban lifted, is not going to be detrimental to the environment and repeat what has happened earlier? How can the government assure us that the mining plan is going to be a balanced and environment friendly one when the view of the mine owners and cement companies only is taken into consideration?
Then on the other hand one sees a Chief Minister who goes gung-ho on his plan to convert Meghalaya to an organic state and also waxed eloquent about his dream of making Meghalaya a tourist destination par excellence. The question, Dr Sangma is: Will the twain ever meet? Can Meghalaya be both, a mining state as well as an organic state and a tourist hotspot? This is a million dollar question. Obviously, Dr Sangma’s heart is in the right place; he wishes to promote organic farming and tourism industry in the state but he is also trying to please the mining lobby. So where will this take our state? Let’s not forget the fable that one who tries to please everybody will end up not pleasing anyone and suffering the consequences of procrastination.
The other story that made the headlines is that of the Chief Minister of Sikkim receiving the award for sustainable development initiatives in the state. Pawan Chamling the Chief Minister of the small Himalayan state was conferred with the prestigious ‘Sustainable Development Leadership Award, 2016’ by Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India. The award was conferred during World Sustainable Development Summit organised by Energy and Resources Institute TERI held recently at Vigyan Bhawan New Delhi. The award was presented in recognition of his leadership in environment and sustainable development which begin in 1998 when Sikkim became the first state in the country to ban plastic and non-degradable materials and prohibited even tourists from carrying plastics bags to the state. In 2001 it became the first state to ban collection of medicinal plants and non-timber products for commercial use and framed rules for mandatory planting of ten saplings in lieu of one tree felled even in private land. On February 24, 2003, the state Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution for transforming the state into a Total Organic State and from 2004 onward the government stopped procuring chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides for the farmers in the state. In January 2016 the state attained the official status of a fully organic state in which around 75,000 hectares of land has been converted into certified organic farms.
Total organic state is a recent achievement of Sikkim but before that the hill state also got the distinction of being one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. The state attracts hundreds and thousands of domestic and foreign tourists and its population gained employment from tourism related activities. Now with the state being recognised as total organic state, both plastic-less tourism and organic farming becomes primary livelihood activities of the people which complement each other. And they are environment friendly too! The leaders of this state have vision and commitment and indeed deserve the award.
Chamling received the award because he is a visionary leader who knows where he wants to take the state and he also has the entire population of the state with him. The leader of the state has a clear vision that is also why the entire six lakh population of the state rally behinds its government to achieve the important milestone. Above all, the two economic activities that the people of the state engage in are sustainable activities and unlike mining – the exploitation of non- renewable resources it will not die out but continue forever. This is a futuristic move for the government of Sikkim and is going to be a blessing for the future generation of the state.
Dr Sangma on the other hand is like a rider of a chariot drawn by two horses with each horse taking the chariot in two different directions. The consequence of such ambivalence is not good for anyone. Or he is like a traveller embarking on a journey and on reaching a junction decides to travel on both the roads at the same time. Is that possible? Can a person travel on two roads simultaneously? Hence no award for Dr Sangma this time around because his Government lacks vision and commitment and does not have any sense of direction. Better luck next time Dr Sangma! Perhaps you can try after 2018, that is if your party is re-elected.
The term begun in 2013 is almost over and Dr Sangma can do nothing to change what has happened in the remaining fourteen months or so of the Assembly’s term. The economy of the state will continue to go downhill and it is in situations like this that people of Meghalaya need an able leader who can take the state to a better future. When the state is shipwrecked in the middle of the ocean without a sail and with a storm looming large, we need a captain with his head about his shoulders who knows what he is doing and where he wants to go. Alas! we do not see this in Dr Sangma.
The only option for Dr Sangma is to make amends and lay a strong foundation for an economically strong and prosperous Meghalaya. Hopefully he will make the best use of the little more than one year to do just that. He needs to come up with a road map indicating where he wants Meghalaya to in the next five years. That is not going to be easy task because he is torn between two opposite interests. He is caught between extractive mining and sustainable economic activity. The test is whether Dr Sangma will have the courage of conviction to take the road which will lead us to a brighter future.