TURA, March 17: In the wake of two groups along with a section of villages alleging illegal functioning of a stone quarry in Chokpot, the owner of the same has now given the lies to the allegations, asserting that the quarry was being operated not only with the support of the majority of the villagers but also with the consent of the Nokma concerned.
“This is totally a piece of misinformation and far from the truth as the quarry in question has been granted a mining lease under the Meghalaya Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2016,” quarry owner Alpha D Marak said on Friday, adding that the mining lease was issued in February 2021.
With regard to the allegations that no consent was taken from the Nokma, Marak said the claims were incorrect and that the NOC was given by the Nokma of Budugre himself just after the Cheran Mahari (clan), under whose land the quarry falls, gave its unanimous consent.
Questioning the opposition to the quarry by the villagers, Marak said, “Due to the constant disruption of the mining activity by the Nokma and two or three accomplices, a much larger number of villagers along with clan members met the SDO and submitted a letter of support on March 10, four days ahead of the public rally,” Marak said.
It may be mentioned that on Tuesday, two local bodies, viz. the Budugre Village Environment Protection Committee and the Chokpot Area Vigilance Committee, with the participation of the locals, organised a protest rally, alleging that illegal quarrying of stones at Chokpot near the Dareng river was taking place.
As per the organisations, complaints were made to the Environment, Forest and Climate Change departments, the South Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner, SDO of Chokpot, local police and the GHADC. However, despite police visiting the site for a spot verification, no concrete action was taken.
The organisations, along with the local people, had aired apprehensions that the illegal activity would not only degrade the forest of Budugre A’king but also bring a lot of difficulties to the people residing along Chokpot’s Dareng river.
