Public hearing for limestone mining called off in Meghalaya after protest

GUWAHATI

The authorities in Meghalaya’s East Jaiñtia Hills district on Friday (May 22, 2026) called off the public hearing for a ₹1,800-crore integrated cement plant and limestone mining project after two groups had a brief stand-off.

Locals said a truck was set ablaze and a few people sustained minor injuries when supporters of the project and those opposed to it faced each other at Lum Syrman, the venue of the public hearing. This was the second conflict between the two groups in as many days.

On Thursday (May 21, 2026), police used batons to disperse the two groups who clashed near the District Magistrate’s office in Khliehriat, the district headquarters. At least two people were injured in that clash.

“The public hearing was called off after members of the Jaiñtia National Council (JNC), Jaiñtia Students’ Union, and Hima Sutnga Youth Federation stormed the site chosen for the public hearing,” JNC publicity secretary Mebanteilang Sukhlaiñ told The Hindu.

The district authorities confirmed the cancellation of the hearing after listening to both groups. “The procedural aspects of the hearing could not be completed, as both parties, especially those against it, were not allowing the public hearing,” the district’s Superintendent of Police, Pankaj Kumar Rasgania, told journalists.

He also said the arson incident was not at the site but on the way to it. “We are yet to ascertain who set the truck on fire, and who it belongs to,” he added, insisting that there was no law-and-order situation.

Trouble had been brewing over the controversial project after Shree Cements Pvt Ltd proposed establishing it in Daistong village some time ago. According to the blueprint, the plant would have a clinker capacity of 0.95 MTPA and a cement capacity of 0.99 MTPA upon completion by March 2028.

A group of about 60 villagers had challenged the project in the High Court of Meghalaya, contending that the land in Daistong was under their use and occupation. Seeking an interim stay on the public hearing, their counsel told the court that the executive summary prepared by the project proponent had wrongly described the land as barren.

On May 20, the high court declined to stay the public hearing, observing that the petitioners could present their objections and supporting materials before the authorities during the hearing.

The United Joint Action Committee of NGOs, comprising some 20 organisations, supports the project. One of the constituents of the conglomerate is the East Jaiñtia Small Miners and Dealers Association.