Khliehriat, Mar 13: A public hearing to carry out limestone mining over an area of 15.27 hectare of land in Mynkre village, East Jaintia Hills was successfully conducted today with no opposition to the project.
The public hearing conducted by the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board for the TNE Cement was supported by all attendees.
The proposed production capacity of limestone is at 1.13 million tonnes per annum through a mechanized opencast mining method.
Doloi of Narpuh Elaka, Manbha Kyndoh, waheh shnong Sunny Bareh, secretary of the Sutnga Boundary Narpuh Elaka, Sailin Sing, Ferlando Lamin, Baniali Pala, Anthony Sumer and Suni Bareh of Rymbai village spoke in support of the limestone mining project.
Through the proposed mining project, the cement company promises economic development by providing employment to 53 and indirect employment to residents of the area. It assures organising health check-up camps, awareness programs about rural development of the locals in the field of education, personal health care and skill development campaigns to improve standards of living in the area.
About Rs 8 crore of royalty, Rs 2.56 crore to the District Mineral Fund and National Mineral Exploration Trust and Rs 0. 51 crore of interest will be paid to the State government in a year.
The meeting was conducted by Member Secretary of the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board, Dr. GH Chyrmang, Environmental Engineer Y.F.Laloo and ADCs of the district C.P.Mawkon and Alert Nongbri, residents of Mynkre and others.
Meanwhile, a group called the Jaintia Revolutionary Council (JRC) objected to the public hearing on paper.
A written objection was submitted by the group to the East Jaintia Hills District Magistrate on March 11.
According to JRC president Leoferdinand Suiam the proposed project has several technical discrepancies and environmental concerns. He said the project will cause significant environmental degradation that would affect air and water quality.
“The baseline monitoring conducted between March and May 2025 reveals that ambient noise levels in both Commercial (N3 & N4) and Residential (N5 to N8) areas already exceed standard limits during both day and night. The report attributes this to vehicular movement. The introduction of fully mechanized opencast mining involving heavy drilling, blasting, and the movement of 20-ton tipperwill significantly exacerbate these levels. The proposed mitigation measures, such as providing earmuffs to workers, do not address the long-term impact on the health of residents in the 39 nearby villages,” Suiam said.
The JRC further said that the promise to provide direct employment to 53 people does not adequately address the long-term ecological loss for the 96.11 per cent ST population in the buffer zone who depend on the local environment.
Furthermore, the traffic study claims “no incremental traffic” on NH-6, which is logically inconsistent with the addition of 20-ton dumpers transporting 1.13 million tonnes of mineral and waste annually, the group added.
