The JCUMM was constituted on November 4 to look into the various aspects, including possible health and environmental hazards, related to pre-uranium mining development projects in the uranium-rich area around Mawthabah in West Khasi Hills.
Members of the Committee, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Bindo Lanong as its chairman, have also been drawn from local NGOs opposing and supporting uranium mining besides experts from various fields and government departments.
The committee has four members from the NEHU, five from the KSU, five from the Coordination Committee of Social Organizations (CCSO), one each from the Ri-Bhoi Youth Federation, War Jaintia Students’ Union and West Khasi Hills Students’ Union (WKHSU) and six from the Association of Meghalaya for Development and Advancement (AMDA). The committee can co-opt any other expert, if necessary.
Last year the Congress-led MUA Government had decided to put on hold for three months the pre-uranium mining development works to be implemented by the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in 422 square hectares around Mawthabah, and formed a committee to look into the concerns raised by the protesting groups.
Meghalaya accounts for 16 per cent of India’s uranium reserves, with deposits estimated to be around 9,500 tonnes and 4,000 tonnes at Domiasiat and Wakhaji respectively. The UCIL had to wind up mining operations in West Khasi Hills in the early 1990s due to stiff local protests, and had again applied to the State Government for permission for uranium mining in 2001. The mining project, estimated at be worth Rs 300 crore in 90s, is now estimated to cost Rs 814 crore.