By H.H. Mohrmen
In the past weeks so much has been written about Narpuh, in fact in the recent past, Narpuh has been in the news but for all the wrong reasons. Narpuh is the last tropical forest in Jaintia Hills; it is also a source of clean and clear water for the area around the forest. But now Lukha the major river in the area has become polluted. Narpuh which is the extension of Boraile range on the Assam side of the border is also home to more than 400 types of butterflies and it is also the natural habitat for the hullock gibbons. Till the late seventies and the early eighties, much of the Narpuh eleka area was classified by the District Council as an un-classed reserved forest which was then converted to private ownership thanks to the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Councial (JHADC).
The Arrival of Cement Plants in the Narpuh area
The first cement plan to operate from the area is Star Cement which was incorporated in the year 2001 and commenced operation from its unit in Lumchnong in the year 2005 with a capacity 0.4 million tons per annum. The website of the company also states that it now sits on 200 hectares of land at Lumshnong, Meghalaya and the integrated cement plant at Lumshnong produces 1.67 million tonnes of cement per annum (MTPA). In addition to the plant at Lumshnong the company also has two grinding units, one a 2 MTPA cement unit at Sonapur near Guwahati and another cement unit at Mohitnagar near Siliguri in West Bengal with a capacity of 2 MTPA. For the entire requirement to produce more than 5 million tonnes of cement per annum, the company relies solely on Lumshnong, in Meghalaya. Lumshnong ensures easy availability of high-grade limestone for use by the company in its cement production. Now there are many cement plants in the area and the major players are Star Cement, Topcem, Dalmia previously Adhunik Cement, JUD, Hill Cement, Gold Stone, and others. All these cement plants are located in an area which is within a 5-kilometer radius.
Public Hearings are shams
In the past, violence during public hearings was unheard of, but of late there have been reports of skirmish and violence almost every time a public hearing is conducted by the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board. From Brichyrnot to Thangskai it is the same story of people protesting against the proposed expansion of cement plant activities in the area. The question that one should ask is why is there always violence during public hearings organized by MSPCB? The irony today is that it looks like a public hearing is designed to help cement plants easily obtain environment clearance. The hearings are just a façade for the company to facilitate easy environmental clearance.
The impending threat
to Narpuh area
In the entire Narpuh eleka, most of the land in the area now belongs to the cement companies. Only Star Cement owns more than 200 hectares of land in the Lumshnong area. The situation is that native people only own the land where their house is located and maybe a small stretch of land here and there, but the large tracts of land are now owned by the companies. What we are staring at now is the case of land alienation where locals are stripped of their land in their area. Narpuh forest is also under threat not only from the proliferating cement plant but encroachment by local farmers to extend their plantations too. There are many pending cases in the local courts of alleged encroachment into the forest by locals for planting areca nut beetle nut or pan leaf plantation.
Narpuh, the Cement
Companies, and Caves
We were very proud when bah Bryan Kharpran Daly’s name was mentioned by the Prime Minister in his Mann Ki Baat broadcast, but the question is what has happened to the caves in the Narpuh area? If my memory serves me right, the first caving expedition organized by the Meghalaya Adventures’ Association (MAA) was to survey and map Krem Kotsati Umlawan cave system. Unfortunately now “Krem Kotsati Umlawan” and “Krem liat Hati” which is in the list of the longest caves in India are under threat due to limestone mining using explosives. Ask Bryan if he would recommend anybody visiting the caves in the Narpuh area and his answer will be in the negative because it is no longer safe to enter these caves. Limestone mining in the area has destroyed the exotic cave system there.
Monitoring of air quality
The cement companies claim that they follow and adhere to all regulations prescribed as per environmental laws, but what about monitoring air quality in the area. MSPCB website claims that 10 (ten) units of Ambient Air Quality Monitoring stations in the State were installed by the Board as part of the air quality network under the National Air Monitoring Programme (NAMP), a Centrally CPCB sponsored programme, but unfortunately, none was installed in the Narpuh area. One would think that Narpuh with the number of cement plants operating in the area and with their captive power plants would be the best candidates for installing Ambient Air Quality Monitoring stations. The pertinent question is why is there no Ambient Air Quality Monitoring station installed by the MSPCB in the Narpuh area. Considering the number of cement plants and their captive power plants, one would expect the MSPCB to install at least half a dozen of these stations in the Narpuh area.
The station was instead installed at the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board’s Premises, in Shillong, and another unit at Barik, Shillong, one in Upper Shillong, another one at Polo, Shillong. Another air monitoring unit is also installed at Tura, in West Garo Hills, one in Nongstoin West Khasi Hills, another at Khliehriat East Jaintia Hills, one at Export Promotion Industrial Park at Byrnihat, Ri-Bhoi District, Umiam industrial estate, Ri-Bhoi District, and one at Dawki, West Jaintia Hills District. But none was installed at the undeclared industrial estates where more than 8 numbers of cement plants are located.
So how is the MSPB certifying that the air quality in Narpuh is under-permissible limit when it has not even monitored the air quality in the area. The fact is air quality in the area will be visible even to the naked eye during the lean season from January to April when trees and leaves take the colour of cement or fly ash. Therefore for the cement companies to say that they adhere to all regulations is like saying, “I have passed the examination without having to undergo any kind of test at all.
The Land of the
Dead Rivers
Narpuh in general and Lukha in particular is the illustration of the kind of water that is available in the area. Lukha is becoming poisonous and recently there was an effort to reclaim the river, but it has to be seen if the effort is effective and also if it is sustainable. When Adhunik Cements planned to set up its plant in the area upstream of the source of water supply for the Lumshnong village, people protested. We were invited by the community to protest against the plan to construct the Adhunik cement plant at the proposed location. But later the community came to an agreement with the company when it promised to provide them water tankers for the supply of water to the village.
The Crux of the matter
At the heart of the entire problem is the companies’ ambition to expand. The recent hearing at Brichyrnot was the expansion plan of Star Cement and recently at Thangskai is the ambition to expand the production of clinker and captive power plant. The threat to Narpuh area is not only the rapid expansion of cement plants in the region, but to power the industry the company also needs to install captive power plants but the major threat is the production of clinkers.
If one takes the example of Star Cement, the total cement production of the company is more than 5 million MTPA of this only 1.67 (MTPA) is produced from Lumshnong, and the other 4 MTPA is produced from two grinding units, one at Sonapur near Guwahati and another at Mohitnagar near Siliguri in West Bangal. Effectively, Lumshnong only produces clinkers to feed the cement plans in Assam and West Bengal and does not produce cement. So how is the state going to economically benefit from this kind of arrangement. Lumshnong and Narpuh are stripped bare of their minerals and are fast becoming dumping grounds of dust and waste which pollutes both air and water. What we are staring at is the process of desertification of the area as it happens.