Members of the East Khasi Hills’ stone quarry, stone crusher owners and employees association have said that they must disobey rules laid down to govern the exploitation of minor minerals in Meghalaya in order to earn a living.
According to the association, it is impossible to fulfil the criteria laid down in the Meghalaya Minor Minerals Concession Rules.
Recently, stakeholders involved in stone and sand mining formed a joint action committee (JAC) that will take up their cause with the government. The JAC has decided to organise a meeting at Kynton-U-Mon, Nongkrem, on Monday for the stakeholders to air their views on the matter.
D Pyngrope, general secretary of the JAC, said that, according to the authorities, they are illegally operating since they do not have licences or quarry permits.
“Therefore we are said to be illegally operating our stone and sand quarries,” Pyngrope told reporters.
The JAC does not oppose the government but wants the authorities to be more flexible when implementing the rules.
They either have to obey the government and halt their operations, which would hit the construction industry in the state, or carry on against the rules.
Explaining some of the rules that the association finds it impossible to abide by, P Kharkongor, president of the JAC, said that in East Khasi Hills stone quarries are mostly located near rivers.
He said that the rules insist that quarries should be at least 100 metres away from water bodies. “This is impossible. Umiew, Umkhen and Umngot Rivers – we don’t have such places, putting us in difficulty,” Kharkongor said.
The JAC president also said that those people who own small quarries will not meet the rule that mandates stone quarries operate on at least 6 acres of land.
“We don’t have quarries which are far from rivers, nor do we own such big areas and if the government forces us to go by these rules we won’t have any chance to earn from this activity,” Kharkongor said.
The JAC members admitted that in the past rampant stone and sand mining destroyed water bodies but in the last few years the stakeholders have taken care to ensure that the surroundings are not destroyed by their activities.
