SHILONG: The Achik Youth Council, (AYC) Tikrikilla Branch has issued a warning against the rampant extraction of stones by way of illegal quarrying and transportation of the same to Assam.
This practice, the council said, is adversely affecting the environment creating ecological imbalances in the region.
Since villages such as Tikrikilla, Medhipara, Bamundanga and Pedaldoba are located in the border areas between Assam and Meghalaya, illegal stone quarrying is rampantly taking place in the open in the area under the very nose of the concerned department, it stated.
Extracted stone and granites are being illegally transported to Assam unchecked as the trucks transporting the stones obtain Transit Permit (TP) from the Forest and Environment Departments of GHADC.
It is noted that more than 10- 20 loaded trucks are illegally transporting the stones to Assam every day.
In a survey carried out by the council, it was found that illegal stone quarries are found in many villages of the region which are run by people from Assam working as teachers in the state.
It is also noted that locals and village leaders are also directly or indirectly involved in the same by providing written consent for the use of their land in terms of lease for many years, the council said.
‘We have also noted that many Nokmas and Gaonburas are also allowing the extraction of stones from their respective jurisdiction by issuing NOCs. In many villages, illegal extraction also takes place in residential areas too”, it said.
Further, it was also found that illegal transportation was carried out in the name of infrastructural developments and road constructions.
Taking advantage of activities undertaken by the Block Offices in villages under Centre-sponsored schemes, locals used to obtain NOC from GHADC in their names to benefit the people from Assam.
Therefore, strict measures must be initiated from the concerned authority to stop such issues and action must be taken against illegal quarry owners and illegal transporters of stones and other resources, the council stated.
The council also asked villagers of the region to put an end to the illegal activity while urging land owners and village headmen to stop issuing lease or NOC.
Illegal stone quarrying and stone extraction, digging of pits without any environmental clearance is creating landscape alteration, landslides or landslips, hill cutting, affecting local biodiversity and lowering of ground water table causing deforestation, environmental degradation and socio-economic conflicts in the areas, which need most stringent and effective steps to stop the same ensuring protection of natural resources and imbalances, it said.