Shillong, Nov 28: The Jaiñtia National Council (JNC) has urged authorities to halt the upcoming public hearing for Shree Cement Company scheduled for December 19 at Daistong village.
JNC members led by President Sambormi Lyngdoh today met East Jaiñtia Hills Deputy Commissioner Shivansh Awasthi with a complaint that the company’s land acquisition involved illegal transfer of tribal land to a non-tribal buyer.
According to the JNC, there is an alleged illegal land purchase by a non-tribal individual named Bharat Sharma from a tribal landowner, Syrpailang Sukhlain. This, the pressure group said, is detailed in the company’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report dated December 19, 2025, submitted to the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB).
“This transaction violates the Meghalaya Transfer of Land Regulation Act, 1971, which prohibits such transfers without statutory permission from competent authorities, and the Jaiñtia Hills Autonomous District Council,” Lyngdoh said.
The JNC said the EIA report lacks documents such as district council approval, mutation records or permissions required under the 1971 Act, making the transaction invalid.
It further alleged that the proposed project breaches provisions of the Meghalaya State Investment Promotion Facilitation Act (MIIPA) 2024 and the EIA Notification, 2006.
Lyngdoh also accused the MSPCB for dereliction of duty in proceeding without scrutinising land ownership, potentially enabling corporate overreach at the expense of tribal rights under Article 371B of the Constitution.
He also dismissed the company’s employment promises as “unreliable”. Pointing to local skill gaps as the area is mostly agricultural land and farmers, Lyngdoh said there is absence of training plans alongside inaction on the part of the government on mandatory local hiring policies despite JNC’s Save Jaiñtia Mission advocacy since 2024.
The JNC further warned of a civil unrest if the project advances without resolving the issues and added that the government will be held accountable for any agitation stemming from procedural lapses.
Already residents of Daistong village had resolved to oppose the public hearing. They argue that a cement factory in the area will lead to pollution, impacting air quality, water resources and agricultural land.
Shree Cement Company plans to establish its plant in Khara Siang Lum Pyrshin area, with clinker capacity of 0.95 million tons per annum and a cement capacity of 0.99 million tons per annum, with construction planned to begin in 2026.
