Shillong, Oct 20: The Centre for Environment Protection and Rural Development (CEPRD) has expressed its strongest condemnation and unwavering opposition to the so-called “scientific mining” operations being carried out in the Paromgre area under Chokpot, South Garo Hills.
“We firmly declare that these mining activities are not scientific but environmentally destructive, legally unsound and morally unacceptable,” CEPRD said in a release today. “They threaten to annihilate the fragile ecological balance, endanger local communities and violate the very spirit and letter of India’s constitutional and environmental laws.”
CEPRD questioned how the state government could have permitted mining operations in a region clearly recognised as ecologically sensitive. The Paromgre area forms part of an intricate ecosystem sustained by vital rivers such as Rompa, Rongdik, Khakiza and Rongma, which serve as lifelines to the people of Chokpot and neighbouring villages. These rivers are already witnessing contamination, siltation and depletion of tributaries due to reckless excavation, the organisation said.
“Allowing further mining is not only a failure of governance but also a deliberate violation of environmental duty. The so-called “scientific mining” has been allowed in close proximity to the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve,” it added.
The forests of this region are home to endangered wildlife species, including the Hoolock Gibbon, Himalayan Black Bear, and numerous rare flora and fauna that are legally protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
The CEPRD said that, under the law, all mining projects in ecologically fragile zones must undergo comprehensive environmental impact assessments, public hearings and obtain prior environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). “There is no evidence of such a transparent, consultative and lawful process being followed in this case.”
The centre also said that it is “deeply disturbed” by emerging reports and statements by public representatives indicating the possibility of illegal uranium exploration being conducted under the guise of coal mining. This, however, has been categorically denied by the Chief Minister.
