HITO Demands Cancellation of Shree Cement’s Proposed Plant in East Jaintia Hills
The Hynniewtrep Integrated Territorial Organisation (HITO) in Meghalaya has demanded the immediate cancellation of Shree Cement Limited’s plans to set up an integrated cement plant at Khara Siang Lum Pyrshin in Daistong village, East Jaintia Hills, warning that the project poses an imminent and irreversible threat to agriculture, water sources, and indigenous livelihoods.
In a memorandum submitted to Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav through Dr V George Jenner, Deputy Director General of Forests, at the Integrated Regional Office in Lumbatngen, HITO maintained that the project must be scrapped without delay.
Speaking to Northeast Live, HITO president Donbok Dkhar said, “The project represents an imminent and irreversible threat to the paddy fields, water sources, environment, and traditional livelihoods of the indigenous people in the region. According to the company’s own executive summary, the proposed site is dangerously close to the community. After sending our members to inspect the area and cross-checking with the summary submitted by Shree Cement Limited, we found that it is barely 0.82–1.4 kilometers from Daistong village, surrounded by nutrient-rich agricultural lands and active paddy fields dependent on 600 KLD of water, including 515 KLD of fresh water from local sources.”
He added that the plant is expected to generate continuous stack emissions and fugitive dust, even after mitigation measures, proving that the project is fundamentally incompatible with the agrarian landscape of the region.
HITO president Donbok Dkhar warned that the organisation will not allow the cement plant in Daistong.
HITO has categorically rejected the proposed Integrated Cement Plant and Captive Power Plant, stating that the project is fundamentally incompatible with the agrarian and ecological landscape of the region.
“Cement dust, coal combustion by product, and industrial emission will reduce the yield of diverse crops, contaminate soil and strain the already fragile water system,” he added.
Donbok Dkhar said, ” Development cannot be bulldozed. Because it is politically convenient, public trust cannot be undermined simply because a clearance comes down from a high officer. When the livelihood of indigenous farmers and the ecological balance of an entire region are at stake, no authority, no matter how high, has the mandate to gamble.”
“We are not against development. We are against destruction,” he added.
Also Read: Manipur Authorities Set Up State- and District-Level Panels to Speed Up Rehabilitation of IDPs
