The day-long anti-mining programme was organised by Samrakshan Trust in coordination with the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), one of the oldest environmental groups in the country.
Several leaders from various NGOs and student organisations spoke on the dangers of unscientific mining and others pointed out that certain groups, including those having links with militants have gone ahead with extraction of coal in vulnerable areas like the famous Sadolpara area that has been a major tourist attraction for its traditional and ethnic preservation. The illegal extraction of coal, allegedly by one senior militant leader, is threatening to permanently damage the environment of the area.
Participants at the anti-mining meet revealed that villagers are being forced to allow coal extraction at gun point and authorities are turning a blind eye to the situation. They revealed that such a scenario is not only prevalent at Sadolpara but has also spread to Balupara, Gambegre and Selsella in West Garo Hills district.
One of the chief participants at the meet was the Deputy Director General for the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Chandra Bhusan, who warned that anarchy has set in as far as coal mining is concerned in the Garo Hills. He said it is time everyone came together to take the struggle forward.
"We need to make a road map as to where do we go from here," pointed out Bhusan.
Samrakshan Trust which has been in the forefront of the anti-mining issue in the Garo Hills, especially Balpakram National Park region, expressed satisfaction with the encouraging participation of the youth and its organisations in the anti-mining meet. Organisations like the GSU, FKJGP, TGCSU and others participated in the meet. The meeting ended with a move to form a common platform against mining with the rest of the NGOs of the State in the coming weeks after a series of meetings and awareness programmes.
The Garo Hills Anti Mining and Environmental Conservation Forum (GHAMECF) which has been at the forefront of the anti-mining issue in Balpakram and its adjoining areas has already pledged its support for the State platform to contain illegal and unscientific mining. Its members were at the forefront of the anti-mining discussion in Tura on Wednesday.
The Shillong Times Editorial 15-03-11 - Meghalaya's ecological status
There is no gainsaying that the abandoned coal mines of Jaintia Hills are a holocaust waiting to happen. And while we can thank our legislators for taking up the matter of environmental pollution and destruction in right earnest in the current assembly session we also wonder why it has taken them so long to realize what many have been speaking and writing about for nearly two decades. Samrakshan Trust an NGO based in Garo Hills had some months ago blown the whistle on attempts to illegally mine coal from inside the Balpakram National Park. This is sacrilegious to say the least but it also points to the total anarchy that prevails in Meghalaya when it comes to mining.
Forest land is certified as non-forest, coal mining is unscientifically done, limestone which is a major mineral and which is the reason for so many cement factories mushrooming in Jaintia Hills, is surprisingly classed as a minor forest produce. Clearly we are pretending a dangerous naïvete here. Those who know better and are trained to conserve our forests are the very people who conspire to finish off our greenery. They prefer to continue with outdated descriptions and rely on vague and archaic rules instead of coming up with the latest evolutions in forestry and mining practices. The tragedy is that those who are in charge of formulating policies do so with a vested interest of serving the private entities at the cost of the people and the environment.
We wonder what has happened to the much awaited Mining Policy which would have put in place some basic guidelines on sustainable mining. When confronted with the truth about illegal mining in Jaintia Hills the State Environment Minister has conveniently blamed the District Councils as if they are the ultimate authority. We know very well that Paragraph 12(A) of the Sixth Schedule speaks of the State Government's overriding powers over the Councils. If the State Government had a strong law on forest conservation and has mapped those forests, be they private or reserved forests, how could the District Council alienate those forests lands to private mining companies? And what about the Union Environment Ministry which has the last word on environmental impact assessment? No land can be given out to be mined by individuals or companies if it falls within a forested area. Meghalaya has violated this many times over on the plea that land belongs to people. The State now has to take stock of the situation and curb the licentiousness of unscrupulous mining companies and individuals before disaster strikes.
The Shillong Times 15-03-11 - Opp flays Govt's ‘ambiguous' stance on coal mining - By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The Opposition has lambasted Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Mining and Geology Bindo M Lanong over his statement on the issue of lease of land for coal mining in the State. In his reply during the question hour in the Assembly on Monday, Lanong informed that mining lease is necessary for coal mining in Meghalaya but denied that lease was granted for mining of coal in Siju area in South Garo Hills.
Lanong said as per the Mines & Minerals (Regulation & Development Act) 1957 it is necessary to obtain a proper mining lease but at the same time the Government allows people to mine coal and limestone without a proper mining lease if it is done in a "small and quiet way".
The Government is allowing this system to prevail because the Centre is also in favour of this, the Deputy Chief Minister said while adding that the Centre is allowing this to happen since it does not want to disturb the customary rights and practices of the tribal people.
He further informed that the Central Government even issued a letter in this connection to the State Government in 1987. "This is a very sensitive issue. The Government does not want to act in haste to avoid any kind of controversy," the Deputy Chief Minister said while adding that during the 1980's when Government tried to stop the mining activities, the people of Sohra protested the Government's action as an infringement on their rights.
After due pressure from the Opposition, Lanong was forced to reply that the proposed Mining Policy would also address this issue.
Earlier, Satto R Marak (NCP) who raised this issue criticised the Deputy Chief Minister for his ambivalent stand on the mining issue in Siju area. "I am totally unconvinced by this reply of the Deputy Chief Minister since mining of coal is going on in Siju area," Marak said. Opposition leader Conrad K Sangma said even Governor RS Mooshahary during his visit to Siju caves recently observed that coal is dumped on both sides of the road adding it is a surprise that the Government is not aware about the excessive illegal mining going on in the areas.
The Opposition leader said if the Government cannot strictly implement this law then it would be better to scrap it. Sangma said Siju is a sensitive area since the ongoing massive illegal mining activities are affecting the caves in the area, adding if mining activities are allowed to continue then all these heritage caves would be destroyed.
Paul Lyngdoh (KHNAM) raised a point of order and asked the Deputy Chief Minister to amplify what he meant by "small, humble and quiet mining."
Forest royalty by cement companies under scanner - Opp for independent inquiry
GUARDIAN NEWS BUREAU SHILLONG, MAR 14: The State Assembly today witnessed a heated debate over the forest royalty collected from cement companies, with questions raised as to whether these companies have been set up on forest land and Chief Minister Mukul Sangma assuring of examining the issue.
To a query, Mining and Geology Minister BM Lanong informed the assembly that the state Forest department collected Rs 1.08 crore as royalty during 2010- 11 from limestone mining, while in the preceding years the amounts were Rs 2.51 crore and Rs 1.15 crore. MLAs from both the ruling and Opposition then wondered whether the mining plants were in forest land as the forest department was collecting the royalty.
Congress MLA RV Lyngdoh alleged that cement companies in the state's Jaintia Hills were being allowed to operate without prior approval from the Government of India as is mandated in the Forest Conservation Act.
Opposition leader Conrad Sangma demanded closure of all the cement plants till an inquiry into the issue is not conducted. “ An independent inquiry is needed into the issue. The cement companies should be shut down immediately to instill confidence among the people. It is clear violation of the forest conservation act," the Opposition leader said.
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma assured to examine the matter". “ The issue involves two/ three departments. We are aware of the facts. The present records were due to some happenings in the past. The government understands the importance of ecological balance. The matter will be examined in right perspective," the Chief Minister said. During 2010- 11, the cement companies mined some 11 lakh metric tonnes of limestone in the state. Meghalaya government had last week had admitted of receiving complaints against eight cement companies for violating the forest conservation act and a committee has been formed to inquire into the cases.
This after the North Eastern Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment and Forests complained to the Centre that the cement companies, which had no prior approval from the Centre and were operating with faulty, were indulging in large scale deforestation.
Meghalaya Times - Historic Siju Caves disappearing
Monday, 14 March 2011, Staff Reporter
Shillong, March 14: Many of the historic Siju caves are gradually disappearing due to the rampant and unscientific mining of coal. Elected member from Baghmara, Satto R Marak (NCP) lamented that some beautiful streams which were in the neighbor areas about two years ago have totally vanished. The environment has been mercilessly ravaged.
Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Mining and Geology, Bindo M. Lanong informed that a mining lease is necessary for coal mining in Meghalaya. However, with regard to Siju area in South Garo Hills, no lease has been granted for coal mining. In fact, Lanong told that none had applied for license.
Coal mining in the traditional tribal belt of the State are considered as small holdings and so are outside the jurisdiction of the Central Act, 1957. Moreover, the Government of India does not wish to interfere or distrust the existing operations in the tribal areas.
Nevertheless, the State Government has framed the Coal Mining Policy to be followed in the State, Lanong said.
To a similar subject, MLA from Mylliem Constituency, Ronnie V. Lyngoh, raised relevant questions regarding Cement Companies in the State which have been exploiting minerals like limestone from the forest lands and thereby contravened the Central Act of 1980 in which environment has been much damaged.
Lyngdoh questioned the wisdom of the Principal Chief Conservation of Forest (PCCF) in issuing a license to TOPCEM, without approval from the Government of India. Interestingly, when an Inquiry Committee has been constituted on the same subject, the PCCF was appointed to head it. It is like ‘appointing a burglar to check burglary', he stated. A graveyard of a certain Christian Church has been destroyed in Jaintia Hills by Cement Company, he highlighted.
The Leader of Opposition (LO), Conrad Sangma, demanded that all Cement Plants should be stopped from operation till the inquiry is completed.
GUARDIAN NEWS BUREAU SHILLONG, MAR 14: Charged by the Opposition of failing to control unregulated coal mining, Meghalaya Mining Minister BM Lanong today maintained the government do not intend to disturb the “ customary rights" of the people but said the new mining policy would try to strike a balance.
“ The Government of India has also said it does not wish to disturb the customary rights of the tribal people who have been practicing traditional mining since decades. The state government also does not wish to interfere. Once we interfere, many questions will come up," Lanong told the assembly.
He said the issue was sensitive and the government needs to “ tread cautiously". " The mining policy which is in the making will try to strike a balance," he said. Opposition leader Conrad Sangma claimed the state was headed for a disaster if the mining activities were not regulated and monitored.
He pointed the traditional mining being done by locals in the Siju area of Garo hills where the mines are located near some historic caves. “ We cannot keep ignoring this issue. Environmentally it is a sensitive issue. The Siju caves are under threat because of the mining," Sangma said.
All mining Acts, rules applicable to Meghalaya'
GUARDIAN NEWS BUREAU SHILLONG, MAR 14: All Acts and rules related to mining are applicable to the state of Meghalaya, said Shilpa Chohan, Supreme Court advocate while speaking at the dialogue on the state of mining in Meghalaya, associated challenges and the way forward here on Monday.
This was revealed following an RTI findings in which, according to the Ministry of Coal, Gov't of India, it has stated that all acts and rules related to mining are applicable in the state of Meghalaya, she said adding ‘ all the acts and rules are required to be implemented by the state government'. She also informed that state government has not granted any mining leases to any private mine operators in the state so far. Till date 17 leases were granted only to the cement plants in the state in the state.
The dialogue was organize by the Centre for Science & Environment and Samrakshan Trust at the Don Bosco Technical School here with an aim to encourage greater civil society participation in the debate around mining, to move the debate on this subject forward and try and evolve solutions that can be presented to the state government and to actively engage the state government to formulate a plan for the regulation of mining in the state.
The participants today have expressed deep apprehension over the control the miniature group wields, which extends right up to the corridors of political power. Apart from stressing on the need to have a mining policy which is community and environmental friendly, the participants also said that as the government appears to be reluctant to save the degrading environment because of large- scale unlawful mining, civil society should come to the forefront to save whatever little is left. Jaintia hills, as expected, became the subject of debate during the discussion.
There is rampant illegal mining of coal and limestone with the rise of cement factories in recent years which led to the degradation of environment and pose huge threat to water sources and attractive caves.
Meghalaya Adventures Association ( MAA) general secretary, Brian Kharpran Daly speaking at the gathering said, “ Forest cover is rapidly depleting specially at the Nongkhlieh Ridge, which is bestowed with natural resources and is under severe threat from illegal mining". HH Mohrmen, a social worker and church leader from Jaintia Hills, said that there was “ complete chaos" in the district due to the huge mineral reserves. “ Although we succeeded in stopping Lafarge from coming to Nongkhlieh and set up its cement factory, we could not stop our own people from continuing with their illegal mining," he added. Martin Luther Christian university vice chancellor, Glen Kharkongor said, “ Nobody wants to regulate anything because of vested interest groups. We should go straight to the Centre and the Supreme Court to get our grievances redressed," he added. As the years pass by, there has been a steady increase in the extraction of coal and limestone from the different districts of the state. The coming of cement- making giants has added pressure not only on places which offer coal and limestone, but also water sources like rivers.
The extraction of coal in the state started increasing from 1985 onwards and in 2005- 06, the amount of coal extracted annually stood at 5565.7 thousand tons. The royalty collected on coal also jumped from about Rs 38 crore in 1996- 97 to Rs 114 crore in 2007- 08, according to the data provided by the Samrakshan Trust.
“ In the past decade with the coming up of cement factories, limestone mining has also increased. The royalty and dead rent on limestone increased from a mere Rs 75 lakh in 1998- 99 to about Rs 115 crore in 2007- 08," the data said.
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Meghalaya Times
“If mining is illegal then why is DMR collecting Royalty"
Monday, 14 March 2011, Staff Reporter
SHILLONG, March 14: The situation of unregulated mining across the state of Meghalaya has attracted a huge attention in the past decade all over the country which has had a huge impact on the environment and the hardships encountered by the poorest and the farmers and the huge agrarian population in the state.
In the past few years complaints and even Litigations in the form of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) were also filed and thus lead to the creation of various committees by and also the state government's plans to have a firm Mineral Policy.
Regarding the same a meeting on the subject ‘The state of Mining in Meghalaya associated challenges and the Way Forward" was on Monday held at Don Bosco Technical School, Shillong. The meeting was convened by the Center for Science and Environment and Samrakshan Trust.
The meeting stressed upon the objective of encouraging greater civil society participation in the debate around mining; moving the debate on the subject forward and try and evolve solutions that can be presented to the state government; engaging the state government actively and formulate a plan for the regulation of mining in the state. The meeting was attended by various Non Government Organizations like the Khasi Students union, iCARE, All Jaintia Youth Welfare Organization, the CSWO, Meghalaya Adventures Association and various other organizations and environmental activists and even the Meghalaya State Pollution control Board.
Delivering the welcome address, Chandra Bhushan, of the Centre for Science and Environment, also gave an introduction about CSE. He informed that the CSE also plans to have Water Quality tests conducted in various parts of the state and asses the water quality this year.
There was also a discussion on the topic of the legality and applicability of the National Mining Laws in the state of Meghalaya which is a Schedule Six Area. A lecture on topic was given by an Advocate from Enviro Legal Defence Firm, S Chauhan. Chauhan informed that for a legislation passed by the center not to be applicable in the State of Meghalaya there must be a Notification from the President of India, Exempting the area but there is no such notification thus all the legislations on mining are applicable in the state.
“This means that mining lease is required irrespective of the ownership of the land" said Chauhan. Chauhan informed that there are various legislations pertaining to Mining viz some of the legislations for Regulation of Mines includes the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960, the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Amendment Act, 1976 and 1993; the Coal Mines (Conservation and development) Act 1974, and so on; the Legislations for health and safety of mine workers like the Mines Act 1952 and the Mines Rules 1955; the Legislations for Safeguarding the Environment like the Forest Conservation Act 1980, The Environment Protection Act 1986; Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 2981 are therefore applicable in the State of Meghalaya.
There was a long discussion which followed regarding the steps to be taken for safeguarding the environment. Some of the suggestions were from the Vice Chancellor of Martin Luther Christian University, G Kharkongngor who said “we need a concentrated effort to look into the environment aspects of it." The President of the Khasi Students Union, S Jyrwa said “the Government is the Culprit here, no one has obtained lease and if mining is illegal then why is DMR (Directorate of Mineral Resources) collecting Royalty?"
MAA, president, B Kharpran said “the forests in Jaintia Hills are disappearing fast, wherever you go there is destruction'. “Caves are systematically being destroyed and so is the unique cave lives" added Kharpran who also informed that there were creatures in these caves especially in Nongkhlieh area which are never to be found in any part of the World like the Loach Fish, spiders and more are yet to be discovered. Some other speakers said that the Mineral Policy is just an eyewash, as it will not be different from all the other state policies which never came to force.
Later the meeting came into a resolution that there was a need to form a state forum to look into matters pertaining to mining and other environment related issues by implementing various laws in the state as the state is being affected tremendously.
It may also be mentioned here that an RTI application filed by the Garo Hills Anti-Mining and Conservation Forum (GHAMCF) with the Ministry of Coal, New Delhi, and the Directorate of Mineral Resources, Shillong, it has been found that Meghalaya has not been exempted from any mining laws of India. This is contrary to the common perception that the state is exempted from the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act, 1973, and as amended in 1976, being the main law governing the eligibility to mine coal.
The RTI application has also revealed that none of the mines operated by locals in Meghalaya have lease or sub-lease, mining plans, safety features, forest clearance and environmental clearance.
Some of the gross violations of mining are Section 3, Sub-section (3) (a) of the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act, 1973 as amended in 1976, which restricts the eligibility of an individual to mine coal only after receiving a sub-lease from the government; Violation of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 as no reconnaissance license, prospecting license or lease as required under Section 4 sub-section (1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957; Violation Section 16 of the Mines Act, 1952 by not giving any notice of mining operation to the chief inspector of the Indian Bureau of Mines and the district magistrate of the district in which the mine is situated. Section 19, 20 and 21 have also been violated regarding providing drinking water, conservancy and medical appliances as specified in the respective sections of the Mines Act, 1952.
The Shillong Times 15-03-11
Call for environment protection against illegal mining
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Unlawful and illogical mining in the Sate has been a major concern for one and all. With a view to prevent the adverse impact of mining upon the environment, the Centre for Science and Environment and Samrakshan Trust organized a dialogue on the theme ‘State of mining in Meghalaya, associated challenges and the way forward' here on Monday.
Apart from stressing on the need to have a mining policy that is community and environmental friendly, the meeting also took a dig at the Government for its reluctant in saving the environment. Pointing out the adverse effects of mining in the State, a member of the Meghalaya Adventurers' Association (MAA), Brian Kharpran Daly said, "Nongkhlieh Ridge which is bestowed with natural resources is under serious threat due to the illegal mining."
Vice-Chancellor of Martin Luther Christian University, Dr Glen Kharkongor, insisted that there is a need to move the Centre and the Supreme Court to get the grievances redressed as nobody wants to regulate anything because of vested interest groups.
According to data provided by the Samrakshan Trust, extraction of coal in the state started increasing from 1985 onwards and in 2005-06, the amount of coal extracted annually stood at 5565.7 thousand tonnes. The royalty collected on coal also jumped from about Rs 38 crore in 1996-97 to Rs 114 crore in 2007-08.
HH Mohrmen, a social worker and church leader from Jaintia Hills while echoing similar views said, "even if we have stopped the Lafarge from setting up its factory but so far we have not been able to stop our own people from continuing with their illegal mining." Several Government department and NGOs attended the meeting.
Source: Kamal Medhi, Samrakshan Trust, balpakram@gmail.com.
