Although there is staunch opposition from residents of 15 nearby villages, the state government is apparently looking to push ahead with a discrete public hearing in order to get a new landfill project going.
Fifteen villages in Ri-Bhoi, East Khasi Hills and West Jaintia Hills have come under the umbrella of the Synjuk ki Nongsynshar Shnong Par Umkhen (SNSPU), which resolutely opposes the proposal to set up a new landfill to cater to Greater Shillong at Nonghali. A new site is overdue as the existing Marten dumping ground is continuing to be used despite exceeding its intended lifespan.
Last year villagers, pressure groups and others rallied together to oppose the government’s plan to hold a public hearing on the Nonghali site. The government, through the Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar (who holds the Urban Affairs portfolio) had said that if villagers are willing then the project would go ahead. “But if the village does not want to, we will stop it. Simple,” he stated.
The SNSPU is against the project because the proposed site is just a few metres away from the Umkhen River, which is used as an important water source for the 15 villages, SNSPU president S Rangad said today.
The organisation has resolved to oppose the landfill tooth and nail and will not allow the public hearing, which it fears is being done discretely in order to make sure that opponents to the project are not able to get their opposition noted officially.
According to Rangad, the government plans to hold the public hearing on January 9 and did not inform the SNSPU. In the past, the government had told the SNSPU that a public hearing would give space for the authorities to clarify the issues. “But how will they make things clear to us when we are not informed about the meeting?” Rangad asked.
