SHILLONG, MAY 7: The Jaintia National Council (JNC) on Thursday threatened to march to the Meghalaya Secretariat if the state government fails to respond by May 15 to its objections against what it called an “illegal” Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report submitted by Shree Cement.
In a statement, the JNC expressed serious concern and deep disappointment over the government’s “complete silence” since the council submitted written objections on April 30, 2026, to the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board, SEIAA Meghalaya, and the MoEF&CC Regional Office in Shillong.
The JNC said the EIA report for the proposed project in East Jaintia Hills “doesn’t match with the State of Meghalaya” and highlighted three violations it said were “admitted and printed in the proponent’s own submitted EIA report.”
The first issue, the JNC said, is jurisdictional. “On Page 1 of the Draft EIA report itself, the consultant has written in plain English: ‘The application for the term of reference for the proposed project was considered in the meeting of the Gujarat SEAC, based on the submissions and presentation made by the project proponent in SEAC Gujarat & SEIAA had issued the ToR for the EIA study,’” the statement said.
“This project is in East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya. The JNC asks, with full public record, How did SEIAA Meghalaya accept and process an EIA document explicitly addressed to a Gujarat authority? Since when does the Government of Meghalaya conduct public hearings on behalf of Gujarat?” the council said. “This is not an allegation, it is printed on the document that was submitted to our own regulatory bodies.”
The second objection concerns seismic classification. The JNC said the EIA classifies the project area under Seismic Zone VI using the Indian Standard, while
“The Bureau of Indian Standards officially withdrew this standard with immediate effect through a notification published in the Gazette of India on 3 March 2026.”
“Seismic Zone VI ceased to exist in Indian law on that date. Shree Cement submitted this EIA on 07 April 2026 — 35 days after that withdrawal,” the statement said.
“How can a company be permitted to hold a public hearing where the Disaster Management Plan protecting the lives and lands of our people is written on a law the Government of India itself has already cancelled?”
Third, the JNC said the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council was excluded.
“The Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council holds constitutional authority over land and natural resources in this district under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India. Its name does not appear, not in consultation, not in consent, not in revenue sharing, anywhere in the entire of this EIA,” the council said.
It noted that “the buffer zone of this mine is 98.79% Scheduled Tribe population, as the EIA’s own Table confirms.”
The JNC asks how has the JHADC remained silent? What does the JHADC’s silence mean for the constitutional rights of every tribal family in Elaka Nongkhlieh?
The JNC drew a parallel with the government’s recent decision to scrap Lumpongdeng Island from the proposed Taj Resort project at Umiam Lake after protests.
“The Meghalaya government, under public pressure, recently agreed to scrap Lumpongdeng Island from the proposed Taj Resort project at Umiam Lake following protests by local stakeholders and civil society,” it said.
“The JNC asks the same government, The people of Nongkhlieh Elaka, East Jaintia Hills are they less deserving of that same respect? Why not this one too?”
“If the government can scrap a component of a Taj Resort project because local stakeholders raised concerns, then the government must equally act on a mining project where the EIA is addressed to a Gujarat authority, relies on a withdrawn safety law, and ignores the constitutional body of the tribal district altogether,” the council said.
The JNC alleged that Shree Cement’s entry had fractured the community.
“Farmers who have stood up to protect their land have found no hearing from the government,” it said.
It cited the December 2025 public hearing for the Shree Cement plant at Daistong, claiming “original local residents were physically prevented from entering the hearing venue — blocked by individuals acting in the interests of the company, by utilising their goons and mafia.”
“We have seen this company working systematically to divide our communities — approaching local leaders, manipulating village authorities, and attempting to block the work of civil society organisations in the areas where they seek to operate. This is not development. This is infiltration,” the statement said.
The JNC invoked its pledge made on Kiang Nangbah Day, December 30, 2025, “to standing united for the Jaintia people.”
“The JNC hereby issues a formal and final warning to the Government of Meghalaya: If no official response to our written objection is received by 15 May 2026, the JNC Central Executive Committee will escalate its protest directly to the Meghalaya Secretariat, Shillong, in the coming days, with the full voice and participation of the East Jaintia people,” the statement said.
“We are not a group that ends on writing letters, We are the voice of a people whose land, water, forests, and constitutional rights are at stake. The public hearing is scheduled for 22 May 2026, let’s see what Government does??”
JNC president Sambormi Lyngdoh said, “We did not write for formality. We wrote with evidence. And that evidence demands a response.”
He added, “We will not sit idle while companies from outside take our rights and our land. The JNC was formed to be the voice of our people, and that is exactly what we will be.”
 on Thursday threatened to march to the Meghalaya Secretariat if the state government fails to respond by May 15 to its objections against what it called an “illegal” Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report submitted by Shree Cement.){kind=link}