The Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR) has objected to the state government’s proposed Meghalaya Climate Emergency & Green Growth Framework stating that climate change and green growth cannot be addressed by law and policy that is devoid of pre-legislative consultation.
Recently, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma chaired the Meghalaya State Council on Climate Change & Sustainable Development meeting to discuss the framework and how to enable measures to tackle the escalating climate crisis and safeguard the environment of the State.
According to the government, the framework is to bring about cohesion of initiatives to be implemented by various departments and implementing agencies to address climate change.
This however is seen by TUR as “secretive, non transparent nature of law making in Meghalaya.”
Leader of the organisation, Angela Rangad said the “world wide climate crisis” has been misused and terming it an emergency is an excuse by the government to hide and continue on its environmental rampage.
“The real emergency the state is facing is illegal coal mining, indiscriminate Hill cutting and deforestation, unabated extraction and sale of minor minerals such as stone and sand in the interest of satiating the greed of a few, land alienation and extensive privatisation and monetizing of the commons,” Rangad said.
She referred to the 2019 announcement made by the CM on World Environment Day on planting 1.5 million trees and said he should be held accountable and must answer to the status of the project. “There has to be transparency and accountability on the public resources spent not only in monetary terms but the deployment of governmental manpower and time towards this. Gimmicks will not suffice to address the real crisis that Meghalaya is facing with regard to rapid and deliberate deforestation and environmental degradation. In fact Meghalaya did nothing to oppose the Forest conservation act that threatens the rights of tribals to forests and its protection,” she said.
Pointing out that years ago huge budgets were pledged towards conservation of catchment areas and protection of springs, Rangad said the public needs to know the outcomes of the expenditure.
“It is also not acceptable to merely announce the existence of a climate emergency framework without putting in the public domain the full methodology of how this so-called climate emergency framework for Meghalaya was arrived at. It is mandatory for public disclosure to such an important policy as it concerns our tribal rights to land, forest, water,” Rangad said.
While the State government needs to adhere to Sixth Schedule provisions of ensuring the jurisdiction of district councils and traditional institutions on land and forests is not trampled upon, TUR wants the government to put in place a pre-legislative consultative process for any proposed laws including any climate emergency law.
Furthermore, TUR pointed out that Meghalaya does not implement already existing environmental laws such the Air and Water Acts, EIA Act, that has allowed unregulated operation of coke and cement factories especially in the Lumshnong area.
While a pre-legislative consultation is a must by taking all stakeholders on board, TUR also wants the government to implement the environmental laws in letter and spirit and disclosures and public audit on the status of all environment projects in the state.
