Shillong: The Hynñiewtrep Integrated Territorial Organisation (HITO) has petitioned the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) seeking an immediate halt to all processes related to the proposed Shree Cement integrated plant at Daistong in East Jaintia Hills, alleging that the project poses irreversible risks to agriculture, water resources and local livelihoods.
In a memorandum submitted to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav through the Integrated Regional Office in Shillong, the organisation said the project is incompatible with the ecological and agrarian landscape of the region.
Citing details from the company’s own Executive Summary, HITO claimed the plant’s proximity to paddy cultivation areas and human settlements raises serious concerns.
Daistong village lies less than a kilometre from the proposed site, and the surrounding soil is classified as highly productive agricultural land.
The group argued that cement units generate significant dust and particulate emissions that can harm standing crops and affect long-term soil health.
It said the plant’s operational phase would involve continuous stack emissions, fugitive dust from material handling and large-scale movement of limestone, coal and clinker, which it warned would alter the micro-environment required for paddy cultivation.
HITO also raised objections to the project’s water requirement of 600 KLD, including 515 KLD of fresh water to be sourced from groundwater and nearby streams.
The organisation said such extraction could affect irrigation and destabilise groundwater recharge patterns in an area heavily dependent on natural water sources for farming.
According to the petition, the company’s disclosure that the project will result in a permanent land-use shift from agriculture to industry is unacceptable in a region where farming forms a core part of local identity.
It further pointed to the plant’s proximity to inhabited areas and concerns over air quality, noise and heavy vehicle movement, noting that groundwater in some nearby locations is already acidic and environmentally sensitive.
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HITO maintained that the mitigation measures listed in the company’s report do not adequately address the agricultural dependency of local communities or the cumulative environmental impact.
It argued that pollution-control systems cannot prevent dust deposition on open fields and warned that similar projects across India have caused long-term ecological damage.
The organisation urged the Centre to cancel the environmental clearance process and halt all appraisals or procedural steps for the project.
Copies of the petition were sent to Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, Union Minister of State for Environment Kirtivardhan Singh, senior officials of the MoEFCC and the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board.
