Shillong: Multiple community groups are fighting back against the July 31 Shree Cement public hearing in East Jaintia Hills. The Khasi Jaintia Youth and Student Union and the Indigenous Biodiversity and Social Welfare Organisation handed a 15-day deadline to the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board. They want the government to scrap the proceedings entirely. The groups told Member Secretary Dr. GH Chyrmang that the assessment ignored impacts on local rivers, wildlife, and water.
Protesters claimed the hearing was a sham. Road blocks and tear-gas shells marred the event, leaving locals injured and unable to speak. The groups now demand the state pay compensation to the injured and drop all protest-related cases. They also want the prosecution of anyone who damaged local roads. The organizations plan to head to the High Court of Meghalaya if the government ignores these demands.
Meanwhile, the Jaintia National Council is challenging claims made by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma. The Chief Minister suggested locals were happy with the hearing, but the council says otherwise. JNC President Sambormi Lyngdoh alleges that heavy police presence and cement company supporters blocked residents from entering. The council sent a letter to the Chief Minister on August 13. They demand protection for farmers in Lum Syrman and Nongkhlieh. "The organisation aired concern that the chief minister had not addressed reports of violence, coercion and the alleged forcible occupation of land."
The JNC has set a 10-day ultimatum for the government to act. If officials stay silent, the group intends to launch intensified protests. They maintain their fight is not against any single company, but about protecting the land rights of hundreds of farming families.
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