SHILLONG, Nov 22: After a recent commotion-filled episode of the row over public hearing on limestone mining in East Jaintia Hills, the Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR) has come out in demand of halt to the public hearing and sought for all agreements between the village of Brichyrnot and Star Cement to be reviewed.
In a statement, the TUR called for a special session of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly to allocate special funds with the objective of uplifting agriculture and allied activities besides other livelihood avenues that are not detrimental to the environment.
The TUR has condemned the bid to forcefully conduct public hearing for Star Cement while asserting that the company wants to continue exploiting the land and destroy the environment despite opposition from a section of public.
Demanding of the government free healthcare to those injured during the incident at Khliehriat, the TUR said, “Police personnel are being made sacrificial lambs for the interest of the corporate lobby which is out to exploit and destroy the ecological wealth and indigenous lands in the state”.
Alleging that Star Cement is attempting to grab more and more land, the TUR pointed out that the 45 hectares of land for limestone mining is another step of its agenda.
“The land that they want to exploit is located close to Narpuh reserved forests and its destruction will mean endangering the flora and fauna of the area,” the statement said.
The TUR also demanded independent audits including social audits of cement companies operating in the entire state.
The organisation has reiterated the need to stop the issuance of licenses for limestone mining in Meghalaya, while stressing on the need to carry out an independent audit on mining of all minerals – major and minor.
“Private cement companies began recklessly entering our state and started operations ever since the state government opened the way through the policy of single window agency in 1992. The agency came about as a result of the larger economic liberalisation policies of the central government which gave companies a free hand to exploit the environment and the indigenous populations and their rights”, the statement said.
The public hearing is being conducted over the proposed limestone and shale mining project to be undertaken over 42.051 hectares of land in Brichyrnot village.
It was scheduled for October 19 last year by the Deputy Commissioner, but was subsequently postponed.
The hearing was rescheduled for January 30, 2020, but again called off by the Additional Deputy Commissioner of East Jaintia Hills and slated for November 21.