THE timely protest by villagers of Daistong in East Jaintia Hills, along with organisations like the Jaintia National Council and Jaintia Students’ Union against the proposed Shree Cement and limestone mining project should be supported by people across the state for well-known reasons. The mining site falls under the Nongkhlieh area, which, along the Shnongrim ridge also houses one of India’s longest cave systems. The proposed mining site would directly affect the cave system called Krem Liat Prah, measuring 30,957 m (101,600 ft) in length and is the longest and largest cave system in the Indian subcontinent. Daistong, where the new cement plant is proposed, is in the vicinity of Shnongrim village and will be severely affected if the project is allowed to proceed. Why is the government hell bent on destroying a pristine eco-system without doing a cost-benefit analysis involving the local communities before granting permission for one more cement company to set shop in Jaintia hills.Residents are right in demanding that government scrap the proposed project because large-scale limestone mining followed by the setting up of a fully functioning cement plant could damage water sources, farmland, forests, rivers, and the air quality in the area. Villagers also say the proposed site is very close to settlements and agricultural land, raising concerns about dust pollution, groundwater depletion, and long-term ecological damage.
Apart from the environmental factors the protest groups also allege that tribal land as in the past was transferred in a subversive manner to non-tribal entities possibly violating the Meghalaya Transfer of Land Regulation Act and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council rules. They claim the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) documents do not adequately clarify land ownership and approvals. The public hearing scheduled for the mining project has become a major flashpoint. Protesters claim villagers were pressured into accepting the hearing and that earlier hearings were conducted in an atmosphere of intimidation and obstruction. Some alleged that people opposing the project were blocked from attending or speaking freely.There is also genuine fear of corporate takeover of local land and resources as has happened in the past where the process of land transfer lacked transparency and community consultations. The JNC and JSU argue that East Jaintia Hills is increasingly being turned into an industrial extraction zone benefiting outside corporations while local communities bear the environmental and social costs. Protest statements describe this as a struggle over indigenous land rights, dignity, and community consent.
Questions are also being raised over legal and procedural compliance and whether the environmental clearances fall under the state or central government because of the size of the mining lease. They also allege deficiencies in the Environmental Impact Assessment Report and procedural violations in the clearance process.As always there is a section that seeks short term benefits from the project and argues that industrial investment can create jobs, improve infrastructure, and strengthen Meghalaya’s economy. Naturally this has created a wedge in society even as more and more people are questioning how much mining is enough. As people realise the environmental costs of such projects that matter has become part of a larger debate in Meghalaya. The question is whether development should trump environmental protection and indigenous land rights.
