The Jaintia National Council (JNC) has called for a planned public hearing for a cement plant in Wahiajer Narpuh, East Jaintia Hills, to be called off as the concerned Elaka has yet to give a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the project.
The public hearing by the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board is meant to be held on October 18 for the proposal to set up a cement plant in the area by Meghatop Cement Pvt Ltd. The JNC today submitted a memo to the board through the East Jaintia Hills Deputy Commissioner calling for the hearing to be cancelled.
The proposed plant in question reportedly received the nod from the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) even though neither the Dorbar nor Doloi of Elaka Narpuh has issued an NOC. This was part of the complaint Kynjaimon Amse, an activist lawyer, had filed against the JHADC just one week before he died in a car accident on August 23.
The JNC largely based their memo on Amse’s complaint. According to it, the JHADC has given clearance to Meghatop Cement on July 3, 2023 for a 3 million tonne plant with 50MW captive power plant.
Amse had mentioned that the Doloi of Elaka Narpuh had in November 2022 acknowledged that an application for NOC had been received and was being considered but no NOC had been issued since then.
Five days ago, the General Secretary of Elaka Narpuh Sumer notified that a special Dorbar of Elaka Narpuh will be held on September 23 where one point on the agenda is the NOC.
“This shows and confirms that Meghatop has not yet obtained any such NOC from the Dorbar of Elaka Narpuh, as has been claimed earlier, but the JHADC has already given clearance to the company to set up its plant at the earliest,” the JNC said.
The JHADC is tasked with protecting the rights, land and customs of the indigenous tribal people of Jaintia Hills but has a “malafide intention towards the people of Narpuh Elaka and the people of Jaintia Hills,” the JNC added.
