By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 9: The Hynniewtrep Integrated Territorial Organisation (HITO) on Tuesday raised concerns over “prolonged and illegal exploitation” of “incidental limestone” by seven cement companies in Jaintia Hills.
In Meghalaya, “incidental limestone” refers to limestone extracted unintentionally during other construction or non-mining projects like roads and buildings as officially defined in the 2018 Rules.
Speaking at a press conference after submitting a memorandum to the Secretary of the Mining and Geology Department, HITO general secretary Wanbun Lyngdoh said the state government notified 3.28 crore metric tonnes (3,28,85,496.831 MT) of limestone as “incidental” between March 29, 2016 and October 30, 2024.
“The government must clarify under which provision of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 such large quantities of limestone for cement production were categorised as incidental,” Lyngdoh said, adding that this could be a violation of central mining laws.
HITO claimed that allowing such approvals outside the regular mining lease framework may have caused revenue losses of hundreds of crores of rupees, as the cement companies allegedly avoided paying required taxes and royalties.
Lyngdoh referred to Section 20A of the MMDR Act which empowers the central government to issue directives to states for conservation of mineral resources or national policy matters—not to facilitate mining without approval from the Centre or the Indian Bureau of Mines.
“This raises serious questions about whether the necessary consent from the central government or Indian Bureau of Mines was ever obtained,” he said. “The state cannot permit exploitation of mineral resources at the expense of public revenue.”
HITO urged the Mining and Geology Department to provide a clear explanation at the earliest. It demanded transparency regarding approvals given to the seven cement companies—Meghalaya Cement Ltd, Green Valley Industries Ltd, Star Cement Ltd, Goldstone Cement Ltd, Hills Cement Ltd, Amrit Cement Ltd, and Jaintia Cement Ltd.
