Shillong: The Meghalaya government has constituted a committee to investigate allegations of illegal mining and hill cutting in Ri-Bhoi and East Khasi Hills, following a petition before the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court.
Deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong said on Thursday that the panel, headed by the additional deputy commissioner of Ri-Bhoi, comprises representatives from the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board, the Mining and Geology Department and the district administration. The committee will inspect identified sites and submit a detailed report to the government by October 15.
“The committee will go into all the details as highlighted in the CEC report. We are waiting for their findings,” Tynsong said, adding that the panel would function like an expert body.
The CEC had observed that large tracts of land in Ri-Bhoi had been deforested and must be restored through replantation. It also ruled that the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM), which maintains close relations with the state government, had illegally cleared forests to expand its infrastructure.
While responding to demands for an immediate halt to mining activities, the deputy chief minister urged caution. “If you just blindly say that you have to close down everything, I think that is wrong,” he remarked, stressing the need for evidence-based decisions.
{{/usCountry}}While responding to demands for an immediate halt to mining activities, the deputy chief minister urged caution. “If you just blindly say that you have to close down everything, I think that is wrong,” he remarked, stressing the need for evidence-based decisions.
{{/usCountry}}The latest scrutiny revives a political flashpoint that first erupted in 2022, when Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma accused USTM of massive forest clearance in Ri-Bhoi. He went so far as to blame the university’s expansion for worsening floods in Guwahati, arguing that the large-scale hill cutting and felling had destroyed natural water channels. USTM had strongly denied the charges at the time, maintaining that its projects were fully compliant with the law.
With the CEC’s findings now echoing some of Sarma’s earlier allegations, the Meghalaya government faces mounting pressure to act. The committee’s upcoming report is expected to be a key test of how the state reconciles development ambitions with environmental safeguards.