Meghalaya’s KHADC opposes Centre’s uranium mining exemption, seeks exclusion of tribal areas

SHillong: Meghalaya’s Khasi Hills sovereign territory Council (KHADC) on wed asked the Centre to shut out tribal areas below its jurisdiction from the operation of a central government order that scrapped the requirement for public hearings before mining “atomic minerals” such as uranium.KHADC chief executive member Winston Tony Lyngdoh said the Council rejects the MoEFCC’s Office Memorandum (OM) dated September 8, 2025 of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s (MoEFCC), which ended the requirement for public hearings in mining projects of atomic, critical and strategic minerals under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023.“This memorandum is an infringement on our age-old customs and traditions and an encroachment on our ancestral land. It exposes our people and environment to grave health and ecological hazards,” Lyngdoh said, concerned that the move could lead to land grabbing and exploitation of tribal land without consent.Lyngdoh added that the council had asked the ministry to seek an exemption of areas under KHADC from the September 8 order.Opposition leader Titosstarwell Chyne supported the resolution, underlining that the memorandum would have far-reaching implications for Meghalaya as it effectively silenced local voices by eliminating public hearings.He recalled that both the state and the KHADC had long opposed uranium mining in the state. “The Centre has repeatedly tried to mine uranium in Meghalaya, but our people have always stood firm against it,” Chyne said.Chyne, however, urged the executive committee to go further and seek the scrapping of the September 8 order. “Instead of just seeking exclusion, we should demand complete withdrawal of the OM. Otherwise, it implies uranium mining is acceptable elsewhere in the state,” he said.According to the MoEFCC’s Sept 8 order, all mining projects involving atomic minerals notified in Part B and critical and strategic minerals listed in Part D of the First Schedule of the MMDR Amendment Act, 2023, were exempted from mandatory public consultations under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification of August 14, 2006.The ministry said the move was intended to “facilitate the early operationalisation of mining projects” in these sectors, given their strategic importance for national development. However, environmental and tribal rights groups across the Northeast have criticised the decision, warning that it undermines local consent and environmental safeguards.Uranium mining has long been a contentious issue in Meghalaya, particularly in Domiasiat and Mawthabah in South West Khasi Hills, where large uranium deposits were discovered. Multiple attempts by the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) to begin operations were thwarted by strong opposition from local communities and the state government. Protesters have consistently raised concerns over health hazards, environmental degradation, and violations of tribal land rights.