Shillong, July 5: The Joint Action Committee (JAC) against Umngot Hydro Electric Project (UHEP) has threatened to take to streets if the project is not scrapped in view of the adverse effect it will bring upon the livelihood of the people that reside along the River Umngot.
The JAC said about 20-25 village stand to be affect by the project and a memorandum expressing their opposition for the same was submitted to the Chief Minister’s office last month. But there has been no response from the CM till date, nor has there been any official communication from the side of the government.
Stating that the government is trying to ‘play dumb’ on the issue, Treibor Suchen, the General Secretary of the Jaintia Students’ Union (JSU), said this attitude of the government will not help them as they have the support of the people and they will not allow the project to go ahead.
Suchen was talking to the media after the Executive Committee meeting of JAC against UHEP at the office of KSU in Jaiaw, Shillong on Monday.
Reasons to oppose UHEP
Suchen said the State Government is adamant and wants to go ahead with the UHEP even when there is strong opposition from the various stakeholders who stay both upstream, downstream and in the adjacent areas of the project site.
He added that the Government has bypassed the steps to arrange or to organise a public hearing to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the people of the area, which is necessary according to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
Similarly, the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) has never been treated as the first line of authority to seek the NOC. However, efforts have been made by the KHADC who have written to the pollution control board regarding the issue of the construction of the hydro project.
Suchen said that the main reasons why they are protesting against the setting up of the hydro project is because the livelihood of the people who are solely dependent on the Wah Umngot would be severely affected, secondly the environment would be affected, and thirdly they will be losing land as a tribal.
New resolution and course of action plan
Suchen said the various NGOs and pressure groups alongwith the stakeholders have come up with the resolution to meet the Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma in person and submit the memorandum.
Also, the main objective is to see that the government scraps the project because of the huge number of protestors against it and its effect on the people residing near the project site.
If the meeting is positive and the Chief Minister agrees to scrap the project, it will be the end of the issue, he said. However, if it is not in their favour, he said the people are not dumb anymore and they will not sit quietly.
