The Resistance to Uranium Mining in Meghalaya Was Always About People

The Environment Ministry recently allowed mining of atomic minerals, including uranium, without public hearings.

The Environment Ministry has released a memorandum allowing mining of atomic minerals, including uranium, without public hearings.

(Photo source: Raiot.in/altered by The Quint)

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For nearly three decades, the indigenous Khasi community of Meghalaya has resisted government and corporate attempts at full-scale mining of the state's uranium deposits. Fresh trouble now appears to be brewing for Meghalaya, home to nearly 16 percent of India’s uranium reserves.

On 8 September, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change quietly issued a memorandum exempting the mining of atomic minerals, including uranium, from mandatory public consultations.

Bypassing community consent could effectively pave the way for easy clearances of projects.

Even for minor minerals, such as sand or stone quarries, approval or a no-objection certificate (NOC) from traditional institutions like the dorbar shnong (village assembly) or autonomous district council is required before mining can begin.

To now exempt atomic minerals, which create radiation and pose several environmental and health risks from public hearings altogether, is nothing short of absurd.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

History of Uranium Mining in Meghalaya

To understand why this move has raised alarm in Meghalaya, it helps to look at the state’s history with uranium. Both government and private players have long coveted the state's rich deposits since they were first identified in the early 1980s.

The Atomic Minerals Directorate conducted an aerial survey of Domiasiat, a village in West Khasi hills and confirmed the presence of uranium in 1984. Soon after, the Government of India began exploratory mining in Domiasiat and other parts of the West Khasi Hills.

By 1996, following years of exploratory and intensive drilling, the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) was handed the project, with plans to extract the mineral through open-cast mining.

Today, Meghalaya is estimated to hold around 13,000 tonnes of uranium, much of it concentrated in villages like Domiasiat, Kylleng-Pyndeng Sohïong, and Mawthabah.

So far, only exploratory mining projects have taken place in Meghalaya. But this memorandum could open the door for UCIL to secure government approval for full-scale mining—this time by bypassing the resistance of local community.

Why is This Move Concerning?

The last public hearing on uranium mining in Meghalaya was held in 2007, when the State Pollution Control Board convened a meeting at Nongbah Jynrin, about 135 km west of Shillong, to gather local opinion on the proposed mining project.

Such hearings are a mandatory step to secure clearance from the environment ministry and, subsequently, from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board for open-cast mining.

By that time, however, resistance to uranium mining had gained momentum in the state. The community had become aware of the potential health and ecological risks, and civil rights groups as well as political organisations voiced fierce opposition.

Despite resistance, the then Union Ministry of Environment and Forests went ahead in December 2007 and reportedly cleared a controversial mining project by UCIL in Nongbah Jynrin, claiming the public hearing had been “successful.”

The ministry justified its decision by arguing that the proposed site was largely wasteland, and that no ecologically sensitive areas, such as a national park, wildlife sanctuary, or biosphere reserve, lay within the mine’s core or buffer zone. The ministry's letter is publicly available. But this was a misdirection.

Firstly, these lands cannot be called 'wastelands'. They are Scheduled areas that fall under the jurisdiction of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, where the indigenous Khasi community has lived for generations.

The issue was never about protected areas; it was about people. Communities lived here, and mining would affect their health, livelihoods, crops, and livestock, regardless of whether the land was officially labelled "ecologically sensitive."

This was the only public hearing held on this matter.

Health Risks, Warning Signs Were Ignored

When the exploratory mining first began in the early 1980s, in Domiasiat, villagers claim they allowed it because they were not aware of its impact. But as these were done, many red flags reportedly emerged. The community reported alleged health hazards affecting both people and cattle in the areas where mining was carried out. UCIL and other authorities like the Department of Atomic Energy, however, have consistently denied the possibility of radiation-related health hazards.

It was during this period that Kong Spility Lyngdoh Langrin of Domiasiat village in West Khasi Hills emerged as a leading voice against uranium mining—a figure who is still remembered today as the face of the movement across the state.

In 1993, she famously refused UCIL’s offer of around Rs 45 crore for mining rights on her land and remained steadfast in her opposition until her death in 2020, at the age of 95.

She said she made this decision after labourers employed by UCIL, who were working on the exploratory mines at the time, warned her about the health risks.

She also often spoke of her lived experiences, of livestock that fell sick and died, and of the health problems faced by people in her own village affected by exploratory drilling.

I was in college then, part of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), when we joined the resistance.

In the early 1990s, we visited multiple mining sites, speaking to villagers to understand the ground reality and ascertain the facts. That was when I first met Kong Spility and heard her stories firsthand.

People reported breathing difficulties, kidney problems, and overall poor health. There were also accounts of pregnancy complications, stillbirths, and birth deformities. Crops and cattle, too, were affected. After witnessing these realities firsthand, the KSU decided to throw its weight behind the movement.

It is really unfortunate that these lived accounts of people are merely anecdotes because no one from the health ministry has done a thorough investigation into the health impacts.

I believe an independent inquiry is urgently needed in the areas where exploratory mining has taken place, to uncover the full extent of the ecological and health risks faced by local communities—and to assess the dangers that large-scale mining could pose in the future.

(The Quint has reached out to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Meghalaya, with a detailed questionnaire. This article will be updated once a response is received.)

‘The Fight Continues’

This was never an easy fight. The government continued to defend its plans, but the resistance drew strength from the commitment of the local community or villagers, organisations, and leaders like Kong Spility, Bah HopingStone Lyngdoh and Rev PBM Basaiawmoit—and it continues to this day.

The reasons people in Meghalaya resist uranium mining today are the same as when the movement first started.

The indigenous Khasi community know all too well the risks of displacement and losing their land whenever large-scale corporate mining comes in. With uranium, there’s an added layer of serious health risks to people and livestock, which weren’t made clear to the community back then.

And this isn’t the first time authorities have tried to sidestep locals to push uranium mining in the state.

The last rally I attended was in 2016. In early 2015, the state government asked the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council to issue an NOC for the purpose of acquiring land for the construction of a two-lane highway from Nongstoin to Mawthabah, connecting to Assam. On digging deeper, we found that the road wasn’t just about transport or development, it was meant to give UCIL access to its Kyelleng-Pyndengsohiong-Mawthabah mining project. When this came out, protests broke out across the Khasi Hills.

There’s too much money involved for the government and corporate players to simply walk away. They will keep trying different ways to make this happen. I don’t think this memorandum is the end. They’ll keep finding new strategies, and we’ll keep resisting and demanding a permanent moratorium on uranium mining in Meghalaya.

(As told to Anoushka Rajesh)

(Kyrsoibor Pyrtuh is a pastor from Shillong. The opinions expressed are the author's alone. The Quint neither endorses it nor is responsible for the same.)