SHILLONG, JUNE 28: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) on Wednesday asked the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) not to issue any No-objection certificate (NOC) for mining of uranium and construction of railway line within its jurisdiction.
A delegation led by the KSU chief Lambokstarwell Marngar also demanded the Pyniaid Sing Syiem-led Khasi Hills Democratic Front (KHDF) executive committee to ensure tribal lands are not turned into defence land.
Addressing the media after a meeting, Marngar said, “We met the chief executive member (CEM) and his EC to remind the council about the three issues. The first issue is related to the issue of uranium since we know that permission for such mining is required from the district council. The stand of the union has been to say No to uranium mining. We are happy that the Council is still honouring its promise made in the previous years to not issue any NOC for uranium mining.”
Marngar also said the shutting down of the Shillong office of the UCIL in 2018 was just an “eye wash” because the ground reality is that they are still making concerted efforts to get permission for carrying uranium mining in Meghalaya.
“The Centre has not stopped making efforts to mine uranium in Meghalaya. Officials of the central government are meeting people and interacting with them about uranium mining. Therefore, don’t say that they have stopped because secretly they are working in full swing and in view of this, we have reminded the Council about the stand of the KSU that it will never allow uranium mining in Meghalaya,” he added.
On the issue of railway line, the KSU chief said, “We have asked the Council not to issue any NOC for railway projects so long as the Government of India is yet to grant Inner Line Permit (ILP) to the state of Meghalaya. We are happy that the Council is also on the same page with us on the need to first put in place effective anti-influx mechanisms before speaking about the railway line in the state.”
“It would also be better for the state government to aggressively pursue with the Centre for implementation of the ILP instead of pursuing for implementing the railway projects in the state,” he said.
He also warned that the Union will take stern action if there is an attempt on the part of both the Centre and state government to forcefully implement the railway projects in the state and said, “It is only after ILP is implemented will we then decide on whether to accept or reject the railway line.”
On the government’s move to introduce only goods train in Meghalaya, Marngar however said even a truck carrying goods is also carrying influx just imagine what will happen if we allow a goods train to come because at the end of the day whether it is a goods train or a passenger train they will be using the same railway track.
When asked, the KSU chief said, “Whether the State needs to pass again the official resolution for implementation of ILP that we leave it to the state government to decide,” adding “Even if they pass the ILP resolution 10 times, I feel it will all depend on the State how aggressive it can pursue the demand because till today it is still waiting for the Centre to complete studying a one-page resolution (passed in 2019).”
Meanwhile, the KSU has also asked the KHADC not to allow parting of tribal lands to defence authority.
“We have seen that the defence authority is looking for land in the region but we have made it clear to the EC that we do not want our land to be turned into defence land. We are happy to know that the Council is not in a hurry to take a call on this matter but we have requested them to properly examine any proposal before taking a decision,” Marngar said.
By Our Reporter
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