SHILLONG, MAY 18: Residents along with activists of the Jaintia National Council (JNC) and Jaintia Students’ Union (JSU), on Monday staged a protest march in Shillong demanding the cancellation of the upcoming public hearing for Shree Cement Ltd’s proposed limestone mining project, citing alleged violations of the Meghalaya Land Transfer Act and irregularities in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA).
The march began from Malki ground with the intention of proceeding to the Secretariat.
Protesters were, however, stopped midway by police and the district administration.
Speaking at the protest, JNC president Sambormi Lyngdoh said, “We have started this protest since last year during the public hearing regarding the Shree Cement plant.”
“What we have found in the EIA of this Shree Cement is that they violate the Meghalaya Land Transfer Act and we have written our complaint to the different departments of the government of Meghalaya but till date we have not received any official clarification from these departments,” Lyngdoh said.
He alleged that during the public hearing held last year, “the people from the village of Daistong were not getting a chance to participate in the public hearing and for the NGOs also, they have stopped us on the way by blocking the road with the dumper.”
Lyngdoh said the company is set to hold another public hearing for limestone mining over “more than 217 hectares.”
“What we found in the EIA is very comical, I can say, because before any company could conduct a public hearing they should receive terms of reference from the state government,” he said. “But what happened in this EIA of Shree Cement, we have witnessed it clearly stated that terms of reference have been approved by the SEIAA and SEAC of the Gujarat government. So this is purely illegal.”
“We have written to the concerned departments and till date the government has not responded to our demands,” he added.
“Today, we are here in Shillong to raise our voices of concern because in East Jaintia, to conduct this public hearing, we know the government is trying to deploy their mafias and gangsters to stop the public from participating,” Lyngdoh alleged.
“Therefore, we from JNC and the JSU, we are against these steps taken by the government.”
“Right now we have declared our protest and agitation is no more against the Shree Cement but it is directly against the Meghalaya Government because without the consent of the Government, no company can set up their plant in the State of Meghalaya,” he said.
Lyngdoh further claimed that while cement companies “try to brainwash our public by offering them jobs,” the reality is different.
“We have 8-9 cement plants and a lot of coke factories but the employees are from outside the State and only a few percent are from local villages,” he said.
He added that the JNC has written to the state government “to come up with a policy so that 80% of jobs in the cement companies should go to our indigenous tribal Khasi, Jaintia and Garo people of the State as a whole.”
“We want the government to stop this public hearing because it is clearly illegal,” Lyngdoh said.
On permissions for Monday’s march, he said, “We have asked for permission from the district administration and they gave us permission till here only because this is just the beginning of our protest. We do not want to use our force. We want the protest to be peaceful and respectful to both sides, to the administration and to the police department. We are here today to make our voice clear to the government.”
Lyngdoh said the next steps would be decided after forming a committee.
“After this, we will have a committee comprising of residents of Elaka Nongkhlieh, JNC and JSU and maybe we will call all NGOs from East Jaintia Hills and we will declare our next step,” he said.
He also warned of environmental and heritage loss. “There are lots of tourist spots in that area. There is a cave that connects to our history. When we had a war with the British in 1861-62, our freedom fighter Kiang Nangbah hid inside that cave,” Lyngdoh said.
“If the mining by the company will continue, all those caves will be destroyed and the river Lytein will be destroyed, plus the surrounding of that area is paddy field of the people. So agricultural land will also be destroyed and livelihood of the people will be destroyed.”
JSU general secretary Neikee Mukhim said, “We have come here to oppose the public hearing to be organized on May 22 and demand the state government to immediately scrap this public hearing.”
“The head of Elaka is giving a statement that people outside Daistong village could not take part in the public hearing,” Mukhim said. “The JSU, JNC and villagers of Daistong village, we have come today with a heavy heart that the government is misusing power, threatening that people should not come to oppose or support in this public hearing.”
“The government is trying to violate norms by holding this public hearing,” he said. “If the government tries to forcefully hold this public hearing, we will protest and try to block the officials from holding the public hearing and anything may happen on that day. If anything happens on that day the Government and district administration should take full responsibility.”
Mukhim alleged violations of land laws. “The government has violated norms in the sense that locals are allowed to sell their land to a non-tribal, that is Bharat Sharma,” he said. “This Syrpai Sukhlain, the owner of this area, is trying to sell this land to Bharat Sharma, who is the owner of the company, by violating the Land Transfer Act, 1971. In the Sixth Schedule, you cannot sell the land to a non-tribal.”
On the EIA, he said, “EIA belongs to Gujarat because according to the terms of reference, the EIA belongs to Gujarat because the Government of India tried to conduct the public hearing on behalf of the Gujarat people, not on behalf of Meghalaya people.”
“The JHADC is supposed to be the authority looking after the tribal land but the JHADC is not involved in the EIA of this company,” Mukhim said. “The government tries to violate further by taking away the right to protest from the opposition or those supporting the project.”
Referring to the previous hearing, he alleged, “In the last public hearing for Shree Cement, we have seen the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) try to use their mafia and goons to block people who are opposing. This is not acceptable in a democracy. If we are not allowed to make our voice heard, then this is not a public hearing, it is a private hearing.”
The Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board has scheduled the public hearing for Shree Cement’s limestone mining project at Lum Syrman on May 22.
 and Jaintia Students’ Union (JSU), on Monday staged a protest march in Shillong demanding the cancellation of the upcoming public hearing for Shree Cement Ltd’s proposed limestone mining project, citing alleged violations of the Meghalaya Land Transfer Act and irregularities in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA).){kind=link}