Tura, March 17: After a section of villagers along with two groups opposed the running of a stone quarry at Chokpot in South Garo Hills with a protest rally recently, claiming it to be operating illegally, the owner of the said quarry on Friday denied the claim and asserted that it was being operated with the consent of the Nokma concerned and the support of the majority of the villagers.
Clarifying on the matter, quarry owner Alpha D Marak said, “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”. According to Marak, the mining lease was issued vide a letter in February 2021.
With regard to the allegations that no consent was taken from the Nokma, Marak said that this was incorrect and the NOC was given by the Nokma of Budugre himself after the Cheran Mahari (clan), under whose land the quarry comes under, gave its unanimous consent.
Questioning the opposition to the quarry by the villagers, Marak said that the construction of the approach road started from the month of November 2020 but no opposition or concern was raised all these years until March 14 this year, the day of the public rally by groups.
“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.