Politicians and citizens speak of everything but the environment. Yet what has happened at Joshimath in Uttarakhand where land is sinking at several parts due to human-induced activities should create some tremors in Meghalaya too. One of the reasons for the land subsidence is the reckless destruction of aquifers which then flood the downstream areas and cause loss of lives and property. In Meghalaya, there is no respect for environmental regulations and bodies created for assessing the environmental feasibility of a project are there just to facilitate mining of coal, limestone, stone and sand quarrying etc., not to curb these activities. The alibi given is that these are traditional livelihoods and hence stopping them without providing alternative employment is not tenable. If the governments past and present had engaged enough on this issue and recognised the environmental concerns that threaten our long term water availability and stability, by now alternative sources of income would have been created. Alas! All governments have only a five-year plan and don’t care what happens thereafter. This short-sightedness will cause major environmental impacts in Meghalaya.
Vast stretches of what was once forests have been denuded. This is visible on the way to Smit, Mawkynrew, Mawlngot and on the road to both East and West Jaintia Hills and West Khasi Hills too. It’s the same story in the Garo Hills. Politicians have either capitulated to the sand banking, quarrying and mining lobbies or are part of the caucus themselves. Most rivers in Meghalaya have become sluggish drains loaded with garbage but no one loses sleep over this. The Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) is just an office clearing files that give a free-for-all to mining lobbies. They have never once taken any action to try and awaken communities to care for their rivers. Surely they have enough wherewithal for consistent awareness programmes and also the mandate to take action against polluters. Why has not a single action been initiated by the MSPCB? Is it because there is a nexus between this institution and those who are hell bent on destroying the environment for minting money?
The Forest Department too is an apathetic onlooker to the slow death of forests on account of charcoal production by the hundreds of tonnes daily. The three district councils too have never been held accountable for the rapid destruction of forest which they claim is under their watch. Incidentally the rivers too are under the custodianship of the district councils. But when has the Forest Department and the district councils last had a joint strategy to conserve our dwindling forests. Will any political party care to include the environment in their manifesto even if it is not a sexy agenda?
