SHILLONG, Sep 19: A recent office memorandum (OM) issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, exempting uranium mining from mandatory public consultations, has raised eyebrows in uranium-rich Meghalaya, where past attempts to extract the mineral have repeatedly faced stiff local resistance.
Pressure groups, which have resisted all attempts to mine uranium in the state, expressed dismay over the OM that excludes mining of atomic mineAll Postsrals, including uranium, as well as critical and strategic minerals under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, from public hearings.
Meghalaya is home to one of the country’s largest uranium reserves, particularly in Domiasiat, Wahkaji, and the adjoining areas of West Khasi Hills.
The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), which has been at the forefront of anti-uranium protests for decades, reiterated its opposition to any move to open mines in the state.
KSU president Lambokstar Marngar said the exemption of public consultations was an assault on the rights of indigenous people and warned of intensified resistance if fresh attempts were made to explore uranium mining in the state.
Successive proposals to tap uranium deposits have been stalled for over two decades amid health, environmental, and rights-related concerns.
The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) said that the Centre made various attempts and employed different means to extract uranium from Meghalaya, but they did not materialise due to the strong resistance and objections from the residents of areas where the radioactive metal is found.
“The government of India has now devised new tactics to silence the voices of dissent, to snatch away the people’s right to free expression and decision-making over their land and resources, and to deny their right to live without being exposed to the dangers that arise from mining uranium from our beloved homeland,” the HYC said.
It called upon the indigenous community not to lose heart or grow weak or weary in the struggle against this threat to the community. It also vowed to fight any bid to extract uranium “from our land”.
The National People’s Youth Front urged the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council’s Chief Executive Member Shemborlang Rynjah to invoke provisions of the Sixth Schedule to safeguard the rights of the tribal people living in the uranium belt.
NPYF working president Bajop Pyngrope said Rynjah assured them the matter would be examined and taken up with the council officials.
