Correspondent
Shillong, July 7: The Meghalaya government has reiterated its stance that it will not allow uranium mining in the State.
“We are very clear that we will not allow uranium mining. We are with the people of Meghalaya and that position has not changed,”
Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Urban Affairs, Sniawbhalang Dhar said.
Dhar’s statement is significant following the demand by the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) that the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly adopt a resolution against uranium mining in the state.
The KSU, which has been spearheading the anti-uranium campaign, claimed that influential individuals, including a former legislator from Ri-Bhoi district, are trying to acquire land in Domiasiat village to sell it to mining companies for uranium extraction.
Domiasiat, a small hamlet in South West Khasi Hills district, about 130 km from Meghalaya’s capital Shillong, is known for its largest and richest uranium deposit in India.
Meghalaya has an estimated 9.22 million tonnes of uranium ore deposits. Meghalaya is the third uranium-rich state in the country after Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. However, Dhar said he was not unaware of such claims, but stressed that uranium extraction will not move forward without the support of the people and the whole state is on board.
Nonetheless, the Deputy Chief Minister said the government would not ignore the claims and would verify the facts before drawing any conclusions.
Refuting claims that villages opposing uranium mining were being denied development, Dhar said government schemes and infrastructure projects are implemented without linking them to the uranium issue. “There is no question of withholding development because of people’s views on uranium mining. The government’s responsibility is to ensure development reaches every part of the state and that is exactly what we are doing,” he said. Moreover, he said the government is gradually improving connectivity across Meghalaya, although it may not be possible to fulfil every demand immediately. Previous governments and the Khasi Hill Autonomous District Council have refused to grant mining lease and statutory permission to the state-owned Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) for the open-cast uranium mining and processing plant at Mawthabah area in South West Khasi Hills district after several groups cited radiation effect on human health and environmental degradation.
UCIL plans to produce 375,000 tonnes of uranium ore a year and process 1,500 tonnes of the mineral a day.
On August 29, 2018, the UCIL shut down its offices working in Shillong and Wahkaji temporarily, but maintained that efforts are on for obtaining mining lease and statutory permission from the State government for uranium mining.
The Atomic Mineral Directorate has also stopped its exploratory drilling in uranium-rich deposits in the South West Khasi Hills district after its officials were attacked and machines used for taking sub surface samples were also set on fire.