Environment
The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court has issued strict directives for mining and land use in Meghalaya. All mining lease holders are required to submit digital maps of their lease areas, transport routes, waste-dump sites, and de-siltation pits within 30 days, failing which their operations will be halted. The State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has been asked to re-appraise all earlier clearances, while seasonal moratoriums on land-cutting, mining, and earthworks from May to September will now be enforced.
The CEC further recommended strong safeguards such as retaining walls, bunding, de-siltation sumps, and mandatory greenbelts, with additional plantation buffers for high-impact zones like stone quarries. It directed the Meghalaya government to finalize the definition of ‘forest’ within six months and to maintain a Central Digital Registry for transparency.
On violations by the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM), the CEC observed encroachment on forest land without mandatory central approval under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. It ordered the immediate stoppage of non-forestry activities and full restoration of the encroached area to forest within a year. Additionally, a comprehensive restoration plan for the Basistha-Bahini and Dighalpani watersheds has been recommended under the supervision of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
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