CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on Wednesday unanimously passed a government resolution against mining of uranium in the state, formally placing the House on record against any uranium mining operation or uranium ore processing facility anywhere in Meghalaya. Moving the resolution, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said the state government would take the matter forward with the Union Government and press for a complete bar on uranium mining and processing in the state, including the proposed Kylleng-Pyndengsohiong Mawthabah Uranium Mining Project.
Sangma said the resolution was intended to convey a clear and united position of the state government, the Assembly and the people of Meghalaya on the contentious issue.
"We will be taking this resolution to the Union government and urging them to ensure that no uranium mining or processing activities occur in any part of the state, in any form, as this is a basic yet critical resolution," the CM said.
The resolution records the opposition of the people of Meghalaya to uranium mining and the establishment of any facility for processing uranium ore in the state. It urges the Government of India, the Department of Atomic Energy and the Uranium Corporation of India Limited not to permit, pursue or undertake any uranium mining operation in Meghalaya, including under the Kylleng-Pyndengsohiong Mawthahah Uranium Mining Project.
Sangma said the issue had remained a matter of concern among different sections of society for a long time and that the government considered it necessary to make Meghalaya's position explicit.
"We strongly felt that a resolution must be brought to clearly send a message in one voice that the state of Meghalaya, its people, its government and its elected members oppose any kind of activity related to mining of uranium or processing of uranium in our state," Sangma said.
The resolution talks about the special protections for Meghalaya's tribal areas under the Sixth Schedule and refers to the Supreme Court's July 3, 2019, decision, which stated protections for Meghalaya's tribal areas under the Sixth Schedule and mentions the Supreme Court's July 3, 2019, ruling, which made it clear that in Meghalaya, both private landowners and community owners have rights to the land above and below the surface, meaning that the tribals on state-owned land also own the minerals. State-owned land also owned the minerals
It also mentions the discovery of uranium-containing minerals in the Domiasiat, Wahkyn, and Lostoin areas of the West Khasi Hills and South West Khasi Hills districts and notes that the planned project includes open-cast mining and a facility to process the ore.
He further said the area receives exceptionally high rainfall, is of steep terrain and is susceptible to landslides, and forms the catchment of streams and rivers supporting drinking water, agriculture, fisheries and livelihoods.
The resolution also states that traditional institutions, autonomous district councils, student and civil society organisations and elected representatives have consistently opposed uranium mining, that the free, prior and informed consent of affected communities has been denied, and that the free, prior and informed consent of affected communities has not been obtained and no uranium mining lease has been granted in the State.
It also mentions the September 8, 2025, memo from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change that allows some atomic mineral mining projects to skip public consultation required by the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006.
The resolution also refers to the statement made by the Union Minister of State in charge of the Department of Atomic Energy in Shillong that no decision had been taken on uranium mining in Meghalaya and that the matter remained under examination.
Sangma said Meghalaya's constitutional and legal safeguards were intended to protect the state's people and land.
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