CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: In a dramatic escalation that has taken the battle from a remote village in East Jaintia Hills to the corridors of power in New Delhi, more than 200 residents of Daistong have petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking the suspension of what they term an "illegal" public hearing for a proposed cement plant by Shree Cement Ltd.
The villagers have alleged that authorities conducted the December 19, 2025 environmental public hearing despite serious procedural lapses, including an alleged no-objection certificate issued by the dorbar shnong without the knowledge or consent of the residents.
Local activist Reachingson Siangshai, speaking on behalf of the villagers on Saturday, said authorities must halt the hearing immediately as the village authorities had entered into an agreement with the company "without the knowledge of the residents".
He further claimed that the village authorities never made the agreement public within the village.
"The agreement… is not known to the people of the village," he said.
Beyond procedural concerns, the villagers have raised alarm over the ecological sensitivity of the proposed project site. The company plans to set up the plant near the Lait Prah and Labit cave systems - among the longest cave networks in India and South Asia - where researchers recently documented a rare blind cave fish, intensifying conservation concerns.
"If we allow the cement factory… all these will be destroyed," Siangshai said, warning of irreversible environmental damage.
A third and equally contentious issue relates to land ownership. Siangshai alleged that the agreement permits a non-tribal entity to acquire tribal land directly, which he claims violates the Meghalaya Land Transfer Act.
"Since when have you allowed a non-tribal to purchase land directly from a tribal?" he asked the government, demanding clarity on whether any amendment has been made to the law permitting such a transaction.
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