SHILLONG, Aug 27 – After the Meghalaya Cabinet gave its approval to lease 422 hectares of land in West Khasi Hills to Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), NGOs in favour and against Uranium mining in the State have once again stuck to their respective positions on the issue.
Over 19 pro-Uranium mining NGOs from West Khasi Hills district and Ri-Bhoi district held a meeting here on Tuesday evening and hailed the government’s decision. On the other hand, the anti-Uranium mining lobby spearheaded by the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) also met and discussed the issue with the Hill State Peoples’ Democratic Party (HSPDP) and said it would oppose any move of the government to start mining of Uranium in Meghalaya.
The pro-mining groups during its meeting constituted an ad-hoc committee dubbed the West Khasi Hills Confederation of Associations for Uranium Mining (WKHCAUM) to take the Uranium mining project proposal ahead.
The committee yesterday elected Wonder Myrthong as chairman, TS Shangrit as secretary and H Hahshah as treasurer of WKHCAUM. The meeting was convened by former Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, Chief Executive Member, Bleophas B Syiem and former Congress Member of District Council, JTS Thongni. The group would meet again on August 31.
Myrthong while supporting the government’s move hoped that the government would not succumb to pressure this time and go ahead with the developmental project in the district.
KSU, on the other hand termed the government’s decision to lease out land to the UCIL as a ploy to start Uranium mining in the State and said it would oppose the move.
HSPDP president and former Home Minister Hopingstone Lyngdoh said his party would oppose Uranium mining as he feared health hazard from such mining. West Khasi Hills district has been a stronghold of HSPDP for quite some time now.
KSU president Samuel Jyrwa said that the developmental activity of the UCIL was just an eyewash to start mining and people should be aware of the government’s move.