SHILLONG: The state government has allowed mining of limestone by lease holders, including Lafarge with strict compliance of guidelines issued by Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Health and Family Affairs.
In response to a news report regarding environmentalists questioning Lafarge mining clearance, Manjunatha, secretary, mining and geology department, denied that a group of 291 environmentalists had questioned mining clearance to Lafarge.
Quoting national media, the official said that as per the report, a group of 291 conservation scientists and allied professionals had asked Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar to withhold forest and environment clearances during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There was no mention about withholding forest and environmental clearance for Lafarge in the letter written by environmentalists to the union minister and hence the report is not related to Lafarge mining clearance, the official added.
As reported, it only mentioned that the MoEF&CC is under orders of the Supreme Court to strictly comply with the direction on Lafarge (2011) related to guidelines on limestone quarrying in Meghalaya to tighten the clearance process.
According to the government, the Lafarge Umiam Mining project had already obtained environmental clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forest in 2001 and it is still valid. “Hence, there is no question of obtaining environmental clearance again and no question of withholding it”, the government added.
It was only mentioned that environmentalists had asked the union minister to withhold new forest and environmental clearance during COVID-19 pandemic and did not mention the name of Lafarge particularly, the official added.
However, the conservationists had expressed concern over ignoring key guidelines including the failure to appoint a national regulator for appraising projects under Lafarge.
