KHLIEHRIAT, Aug 3: ‘Hell on Earth’ is what the public of East Jaintia Hills termed the existing environmental conditions prevailing in the district after decades of unscientific coal mining and now mushrooming of illegal coke factories that has led to the destruction of the three vital components for survival – land, water and air.
With the threat of total environmental destruction looming large and apathy and inaction from those at the helm of affairs it is now the public who has taken it upon themselves to step up and fight until justice is served.
Ravaged by the ill effects of scientific mining for decades and now by the mushrooming of coke factories, the residents of East Jaintia Hills feel betrayed, misled and exposed to danger for the benefit of a few.
“This is like ‘Hell on earth’. Where is the Pollution Control Board and what are they doing and what is the NGT doing as illegal coal mining is still rampant in our area. Is it the government’s fault or the fault of the public? Someone needs to answer this,” said a resident of Elaka Sutnga, Volente Syrti.
“When the state is corrupt where will we go? The Government is elected to govern according to the rules but here all the rules are blatantly violated. When the Government itself is involved in wrongdoing what can we the public do?” she questioned.
Asserting that they are the ones who have voted the leaders to power and the opinion of the people should not be ignored she said, “They are the public servants but they work against public interest and could not care less about the gross violation of environmental norms leading to hazardous impact on the environment which has reached a deadly point”.
Pointing out that some Elaka are keeping shut, Syrti alleged, “We know that money transactions are going on and every one is involved in corruption.”
Stating that the Dolloi of the area should have been careful and educated enough to think about the future of the people she said, “We suffer on a daily basis as the coke factories are mushrooming in our area. There is massive air pollution and people are falling ill. The Dolloi should have taken the responsibility to ensure the well- being of the people”.
She recalled that a PIL was also filed in the High Court but it has not yielded any results for Elaka Sutnga.
Yet another resident of the area, not wanting to be named fearing retribution said, “The durbar is involved without the agreement of the headmen of all the villages. They do not have the authority to give NOC for setting up of coke factories”.
Agreeing that the greed for money is phenomenal he said that the people should have been consulted but that did not happen and many were unaware about the negative impacts of the coke factories until now when it has started taking its toll on the environment and the health of the residents.
“The people feel betrayed as to why this situation has arisen. It is due to leadership crisis,” he added.
According to sources, the Dolloi, secretary and the headman are paid some amount to get the No Objection Certificate (NOC) cleared and based on the NOC the government had given single window clearance to around 48 coke factories.
Stating that the district administration had no role in this as the NOC was given by the Dolloi and the headmen, the source said nonetheless pressure is now mounting on the administration.
The source informed that there was red tapism in clearing Consent to Establish (CTE), based on the NOC and few months from now it is likely that the factories might get the Consent to Operate (CTO).
“What will happen then? It seems the issue is here to stay,” said the source.
Sutnga Saipung MLA, Shitlang Pale said, “This is an issue which really affects the people and even though I am an MLA I am not aware of the NOC issued by the Rangbah Shnong and Dolloi”.
Expressing concerns on the mushrooming of the coke factories, Pale said, “The state government has done wrong by allowing single window clearance to set up such a large number of coke factories”.
He said that the government should have examined the matters properly since it will affect not only the environment but may cause a major health hazard among the people who are residing in the villages which are close to these coke factories.
“I strongly condemn the decision of the government for giving permission to set up more than 40 coke factories in areas which are close to habitations. If it was an industrial area it would have been a different case,” he added.
Earlier, the DC had issued orders for closure of all those factories which was only granted Consent to Establish (CTE). However factories that are granted Consent to Operate (CTO) will be screened whether they followed all conditions laid down by the Pollution Control Board.
Meanwhile concerns were also expressed about the impact on the coke business where several hundred crores have been invested.
