Photo Courtesy: nenow
Shillong: The Khasi Students' Union is demanding ironclad legal protections to stop uranium mining in Domiasiat. A delegation led by president Raymond Kharjana and general secretary Reuben A. Najiar met with KHADC Chief Executive Member Winston Tony Lyngdoh on Wednesday. They claim powerful political figures are buying up land at inflated prices. The union suspects these plots will eventually serve uranium exploration.
KSU wants the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council to amend land laws or draft new rules under the Sixth Schedule. The goal is to ban the sale or lease of any land holding uranium deposits. They also want the council to block officials from the Atomic Minerals Directorate and the Geological Survey of India from entering the area. Kharjana says the council must act. "The KHADC, as the custodian of tribal land under the Sixth Schedule, has a constitutional responsibility to safeguard indigenous land, natural resources and the interests of the Khasi people," he said.
The union also pushed for a special session of the council before October to pass an anti-mining resolution. They remain on guard. They expect the council and the state government to keep tribal land off-limits to mining interests.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma denied the government is chasing a new uranium project. He labeled rumors of reviving mining as baseless. The state has rejected every proposal in the past, he noted. Sangma promised to look into reports of shady land deals and unauthorized visits by officials to the Domiasiat area.
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