Newmai News Network
SHILLONG, June 1
[dropcap]M[/dropcap]eghalaya militant outfit Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has called off the proposed June 3 Meghalaya bandh even as the Special Circuit Bench of the Eastern Zone of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Principal Bench has deferred the June 2 hearing to be held in Shillong to June 9.
Earlier, the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) had announced to call Meghalaya bandh on June 3 if the ban by the NGT is not revoked on June 2 hearing.The HNLC said today that the postponement of the NGT’s hearing from June 2 to June 3 on the ban on rat hole mining of coal is nothing but delay tactics. “In the year 1996 the Supreme Court of India imposed a ban on timber trade and thousand families were affected due to the ban. The timbers that were already felled before ban in the entire region were worth hundreds of crores of rupees. The Supreme Court constituted high power commitee (HPC) and instructed the people to submit stock inventory report to respective district councils and forest department so as to enable the supply of the felled timbers. This never happened and due to the delay tactics of the HPC all the timber in the forests were totally damaged causing a huge loss. Those days most of our people had the alternative to shift to coal mining but this time after the ban on coal mining our people have been rendered jobless creating huge gap of unemployment,” the HNLC stated.
The HNLC said it is apprehensive that the NGT would repeat the same delay tactics that had happened in 1996. According to the instrument of Accession (IOA) the issue of coal mining is a State subject,but the Government of india is instead intefering into a state subject.This is one of the primary reasons that compelled the HNLC to take the drastic step of rebelling against the government of India and the IOA, as it was forcefully signed and at gunpoint.This is also a clearcut indication that the powers conferred in the district council paragraph 12(a)is in itself contradictory as it is subordinate to the powers of the government of India,” said HNLC. This has in fact resulted in the district council to function as a puppet into the hand of the government of India. “Scientific mining requires a lot of land and will also destroy the fragile environment of the region. Is rat hole mining destroying the environment?”, it asked.The NGT should find out itself,before putting the words of vested interests in their reports,if at all environment destruction is what they are after, and if at all the ban is not biased then all other business which affect the environment like cement plants, etc which are equally dangerous should also be immediately banned, HNLC stated. The mining of uranium in the Hynniewtrep region as planned by the GOI is in fact more dangerous compared to coal mining.Then what has stopped the NGT so far in imposing a ban on uranium mining by the GOI.Does this indicate that there are selfish motives by the GOI,who are trying their level best to start the program of uranium mining in the region. Uranium does not only has it adverse affects on the environment,but it can affect the existence of every living being. Thousands and thousands of poor people would be affected by the NGT interference with our economy and our land,as we are the rightful owners of our lands.Coal mining is a livelihood of our people and snatching away their livelihood would tantamount to snatching away their lives.
