SHILLONG, JUNE 8: Meghalaya’s environmentalists and ngos asked the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to intervene and directed the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board to restrategize and change the ways it is conducting public hearing and the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for setting up of cement plants in Meghalaya so that it also takes into account the need to protect and conserve the environment.
Participating at the interactive session held on Saturday on the ‘Role and function of the NGT’, environmentalists and ngos have expressed great concerned over the way the EIA and public hearings are being conducted by the MSPCB and said most of it are a big sham and “lopsided”.
“Public hearings are a big sham,” said Naba Bhattacharjee, an environmentalist and member of the Meghalaya People’s Environment Rights Forum (MPERF) while pointing out that such hearings are taken only by raising hands by the people present in the meeting in support of any company who proposes to set up their plants in the limestone rich areas like Jaintia hills.
Ironically these public hearings are usually conducted after construction of big cement plant structures. Theoretically permission for setting up of cement plants are given based on majority support that is visible during such public hearing.
According to Naba, the methodology of raising-hands and voice-support in favour of cement plants during public hearings should be ‘done-away’.
Echoing the similar view, ngos alleged that there are doubtful people attending the public hearings as many times it is alleged that these people are not the residents of the area where the plant is supposed to be set up but have come from other parts of the state.
NGT expert member and former Meghalaya’s chief secretary Rajan Chatterjee while admitting the issue is critical however said, “The tribunal would not like to involve itself as the issue is a state affair.”
During the interactive session, participants questioned the inaction of the concerned authority against the serious violation of the Forest & Conservation Act by cement companies .
A lawyer who also participated said, “While the authority can take action against a foreign based cement company making it to pay huge compensation, the same action however is not being taken against local cement companies where the violation committed by these companies are more serious.”
The lawyer referred to the eight cement companies established in Jaintia hills where they have been alleged of gross violation against the FC act for setting up their plants in forest areas of the region.
Reacting to this, the MSPCB chairman categorically said, “Same penalty would be imposed on these cement companies once the court issued its judgment in this regard.”
Issues like rat hole mining, drilling of underground water sources besides water pollutions were also deliberated and discussed at the function.
Earlier, Chatterjee spoke at length on the role and function of the NGT saying , “National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 (NGT)is a federal legislation enacted by the Parliament of India, under India’s constitutional provision of Article 21, which assures the citizens of India the right to a “healthy environment”.
Chatterjee said,“The tribunal itself is a special fast-track court to handle and expeditious dispose of cases pertaining to environmental issues.” –By Our Reporter
