Shillong: The Meghalaya State Council on Climate Change and Sustainable Development, chaired by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, recently reviewed the “Meghalaya Climate Emergency and Green Growth Framework” and proposed a new climate emergency law. However, the Thma U Rangli-Juki (TUR) has criticized the secretive and non-transparent nature of the law-making process, arguing that top-down, consultant-driven policies will not effectively address the state’s environmental crises. TUR has expressed concerns over the misuse of the global climate emergency narrative to justify continued environmental degradation in Meghalaya. The organization calls for extensive pre-legislative consultations, proper implementation of existing environmental laws, and transparency in public spending on environmental projects.
Following is the detail statement from TUR on the issue.
The Meghalaya State Council on Climate Change and Sustainable Development chaired by Conrad Sangma
Supposedly reviewed the ”
Meghalaya climate emergency and green growth framework” which is aimed at addressing the climate crisis, and a Meghalaya climate emergency law is also being proposed.
This news points to the secretive, non transparent nature of law making in Meghalaya. Climate change and green growth cannot be addressed by law and policy that is consultant driven and top down and that is devoid of pre-legislative consultation.
TUR also takes exception to the misuse of the world wide climate crisis and even terming it an emergency as an excuse by the Meghalaya Govt to hide and continue on its environmental rampage. The real emergency the state is facing is illegal coal mining, indiscriminate Hill cutting and deforestation, unabated extraction and sale of minor minerals such as stone and sand in the interest of satiating the greed of a few, land alienation and extensive privatisation and monetizing of the commons.
Against this announcement made by the CM, it is imperative to revisit the announcement made by him on world environment day in 2019 regarding the plantation of 1.5 million trees. He needs to be held accountable and be answerable to the status of that project 5 years on. There has to be transparency and accountability on the public resources spent not only in monetary terms but the deployment of governmental manpower and time towards this. Gimmicks will not suffice to address the real crisis that Meghalaya is facing with regard to rapid and deliberate deforestation and environmetal degradation. In fact Meghalaya did nothing to oppose the Forest conservation act that threatens the rights of tribals to forests and its protection.
Similarly many years ago huge budgets were pledged towards conservation of catchment areas and protection of springs. The public needs to know the outcomes of this public spending.
It is also not acceptable to merely announce existence of a climate emergency framework without putting in the public domain the full methodology of how this so called climate emergency framework for Meghalaya was arrived at. It is mandatory for public disclosure to such an important policy as it concerns our tribal rights to land, forest, water. Furthermore, the State Govt needs to adhere to 6th Schedule provisions of ensuring the jurisdiction of District Councils and Traditional institutions on land and forests is not trampeled upon.
We also demand that a ‘pre-legislative consultative process’ needs to be put in place for any proposed laws including any ‘climate “emergency” law’, and any proposed policy or law needs to urgently address real issues in the state that are contributing to rapid environmental degradation which includes weaking of land rights systems, degrading forest cover, illegal rampant coal mining, pollution and encroachment of rivers, sand and stone mining, protection of catchment areas, lack of garbage and sanitation management, lack of public transport system and most importantly the mindless infrastructure expansion in the city where proposed parking lots, rope ways, unnecessary road expansion and more buildings will compromise the few green spaces left in the city.
Meghalaya is also always in the breach and does not implement already existing environmental laws such the Air and Water Acts, The EIA Act. Which has allowed the unregulated operation of coke and cement factories that have imperriled the health and lives of many people especially in the Lumshnong Area.
TUR demands:
1. Extensive and proper pre legislative consultation that includes all the stakeholders especially district councils and traditional institutions.
2. Implementation of environmental laws in letter and spirit.
3. Transparency disclosures and public audit on status of all environmental projects in the state till date.
