Green signal to Assembly panel visit to site
SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Friday said in the Assembly that the Centre had last year communicated to the State government that any ground activity at the uranium project site in the State will not be taken up without taking the government into confidence.
Replying to a resolution moved in the Assembly by HSPDP MLA Ardent Basaiawmoit to veto any attempt by the Government of India to extract this mineral from any part of the State, Sangma said the government last year had revoked its earlier decision of handing over 422 acres of land to Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) on lease for pre-mining activities.
Sangma said the decision was communicated to UCIL and the Government of India. “Now with the revoking of the land, how will they mine,” he added.
Later, Sangma also agreed to the proposal of the Nongkrem MLA for a House visit to the uranium mining site where more than 1,500 boreholes have been drilled for exploratory project.
The MLA, while referring to the open letter written by Morning Star Sumer in this regard as appeared in this daily, demanded an inquiry into the matter and also questioned as to why so many holes were necessary for exploratory project and the chief minister said a House visit is possible. “Another concern is about people being displaced from their own land,” he said.
Basaiawmoit also said the pilot project of uranium mining at a cost of Rs 450 crore was planned in 1992 but massive public protest in 1996 forced UCIL to withdraw, adding that again in April-May 2003, UCIL conducted a geophysical survey in Domiasiat after it received permission from the District Council and the protest also continued in various forms. “At this point of time I was not known to be a strong opponent of uranium mining. However, it is only after my visit along with some media persons to Jaduguda on the third week of September 2009 to have firsthand information about true effects of uranium mining that convinced me about the need to oppose the mining of uranium in our State,” said Basaiawmoit.
“When uranium is extracted from the ground, it will be crushed and leave behind finely pulverised material of radioactive waste called uranium tailings,” he added as he highlighted the hazards of uranium extraction.
Sangma said there was clarity on the government’s stand on uranium mining and he admitted that there was discussion sometime between the preceding State government and the Centre to split the mining project into two stages – pre-mining and mining activities.
According to Sangma, it was after this decision that UCIL submitted proposals for land acquisition in 2009 and the cabinet approval for pre-mining activities culminated into a series of protests.
The chief minister also recalled that UCIL once in 2010 had made a presentation before the Cabinet and the government wanted UCIL to take measures to dispel questions about health and environmental concerns but UCIL failed to convince the cabinet.
He made it clear that no mining activities would be undertaken without people’s consent.