Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Uranium unrest: On uranium mining in Meghalaya

Uranium unrest: On uranium mining in Meghalaya

Resource extraction projects should have the people’s consent

The Centre’s decision to mine uranium at any cost from Meghalaya, after deliberations (विचार-विमर्श) with local leaders proved futile (Incapable of producing any useful result; pointless), is a troubling benchmark in India’s history of resource extraction (निष्कर्षण). Khasi groups have opposed the exploration and extraction of large deposits in Domiasiat and Wahkaji since the 1980s. Recently, the Union Environment Ministry issued an office memorandum (OM) exempting the extraction of atomic, critical, and strategic minerals from public consultation. Local groups have already condemned (निंदा करना) the OM-based route; one associated with the ruling party has called on the Khasi Hills Autonomous (स्वायत्त) District Council to use its Sixth Schedule powers to protect tribal rights. OMs are executive instruments that erode procedural safeguards and are issued without independent scrutiny. In this case, the OM reduces stewarding (प्रबंधक) communities to bystanders in decisions with profound (गहरा) consequences for them. This is not the first time that the government has moved with force on the matter of uranium. The Uranium Corporation of India Limited has conducted operations in Jharkhand’s Singhbhum district for decades. While hearings for expansion or new mines were met with protests over radiation exposure and loss of livelihoods, villagers have also alleged that the Corporation issued notices in unfamiliar languages and disregarded objections. For tribal communities, the experience has reinforced the perception that their land remains a ‘resource frontier’ for the ‘Rest of India’.

In its conversations with the local leaders, the state should have respected their refusal, but has instead signalled that ‘no’ is no longer an acceptable answer. Uranium mining is highly polluting and can irreversibly alter the landscape. This is why free, prior, and informed consent, as under global norms, is essential. If such consent is unavailable, it behoves the same state that instituted the democratic protections to stop treating uranium as the only route to national security or development and to weigh other deposits, substitutes (विकल्प) or even power-generating strategies. Now, the communities might consider challenging the OM’s validity in courts, banking on precedents (मिसाल) such as Niyamgiri (2013), and invoking protections under the Fifth and Sixth Schedules. Second, the Ministry must withdraw its OM: by exempting the mining of several minerals from public consultation, it sets a precedent that can reshape mining governance across India. Finally, if local protests intensify, the Centre should once more respond with dialogue: coercion, while achieving its goal in the short-term, will only breed resentment (नाराजगी) later. It is obligated (To bind or compel someone legally or morally to an action or course of action) not only to maintain order but also to ensure that constitutional protections are realised in practice.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Unrest (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - अशांति
English Meaning - A state of dissatisfaction, disturbance, and agitation among a group of people, typically involving public demonstrations or violence.

2.Extraction (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - निष्कर्षण
English Meaning - The action of taking out something, especially using force or a specific process.

3.Deliberation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - विचार-विमर्श
English Meaning - Long and careful consideration or discussion.

4.Condemn (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - निंदा करना
English Meaning - To express complete disapproval of; to sentence someone to a particular punishment.

5.Autonomous (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - स्वायत्त
English Meaning - Having the freedom to govern itself or control its own affairs.

6.Steward (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रबंधक
English Meaning - A person who is responsible for the protection and management of something.

7.Profound (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - गहरा
English Meaning - Very great or intense; having or showing great knowledge or insight.

8.Substitute (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - विकल्प
English Meaning - A person or thing acting or serving in place of another.

9.Precedent (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - मिसाल
English Meaning – An earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances.

10.Resentment (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - नाराजगी
English Meaning – Bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly.

11.Futile (Adjective)

English Meaning - Incapable of producing any useful result; pointless.

12.Obligate (Verb)

English Meaning - To bind or compel someone legally or morally to an action or course of action.