TURA, Oct 7: The Association for Democracy and Empowerment (ADE) has raised questions on the use of Garo Hills as a transit route for coal transportation from the state of Jharkhand to Bangladesh, while pointing to the poor road conditions.
Earlier last month, a businessman of Williamnagar, East Garo Hills (EGH), won a Coal India Limited (CIL) auction in Bokaro in Jharkhand before bringing the same to Assam for transport into neighbouring Bangladesh.
The businessman, Georgeman Marak, had stated that more such coal was on its way into the state for export into Bangladesh. The first consignment was 3,300 MT.
“As much as we are optimistic about this venture, we are concerned about its end result. Who is the beneficiary of the whole deal? Will our state earn profits through this project or is this all about getting one person richer than before,” asked ADE president Dalseng B Ch Momin.
The ADE also questioned the reason behind making heavy vehicles ply on already dilapidated roads of Garo Hills.
“We were told that the first consignment of coal is about 3,300 MTs and more is coming in the following months. We can easily assume the future of these roads and we will have to bear the consequences. We simply cannot let this happen unless we are thoroughly told about the whole adventure,” he stated.
He also asked if things were in place by the authorities concerned — Public Works Department and National Highways Authority of India — to ensure maintenance of the roads.
ADE insisted that it was not against any businessmen or ventures but felt that authentic concern should be addressed, while taking people of the region into confidence.
“We are purely interested in the generation of revenue for the state through this transaction. If the government does not get adequate revenue and the people are not benefited, we can’t just sit idle and let some people destroy our roads for their personal gain. We will protest if our concerns are not attended appropriately,” he added.
