SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has defended the state government’s move to rope in two varsities — North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati — to conduct an inquiry into the alleged uranium waste leakage in Nongbah Jynrin, South West Khasi Hills, asserting that they are “independent” bodies.
Pressure was mounted on the government by NGOs after it recently announced that the aforesaid varsities will be put to task to investigate into the reports of leakage in uranium tanks. Various groups expressed displeasure over the move. It was alleged that the varsities could hide facts.
Upholding his government’s decision, Conrad, on Thursday, said that the government took the step owing to the urgency of the matter.
The two agencies can quickly implement the task since there are challenges of travelling to the distant village in South West Khasi Hills, he added.
He also informed that the government is open to the idea of conducting probe by more parties, if needed.
“We have not closed the option of bringing in third and fourth party for undertaking investigation. We will dig deep into the matter and reveal the facts,” the chief minister told reporters here.
If the report of the two agencies is found conflicting, the government would engage a third, or even fourth party to inquire into the matter.
“We will ensure that all possible steps are taken as safety and security of people are our prime concern,” he added.
Earlier, the South West Khasi Hills district administration undertook an inquiry into the matter and debunked the claims of the leakage. But it did not go too well with the local groups and environmentalists, who mounted pressure on the government, citing that the matter is of major public health concern and is environmental hazard.
NEHU has already started its exercise for inquiry into the matter, while IIT Guwahati is yet to officially respond to the government’s proposal.
Meghalaya has about 9.22 million tonnes of uranium deposits, which is 16 per cent of the country’s total reserves and third-highest after Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.
The Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) built these tanks during 1995-1996 to seal uranium decay and other remnants of the exploratory mining of uranium deposits. But of late, it was alleged that there had been an explosion in the tanks and the radiation level now is very high in the area.
