SHILLONG, FEB 23: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday assured to personally examine the applications of the five coke plants, which consent to establish (CTE) was recently granted by the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB), and said necessary action will be taken if norms are flouted.
Sangma in his reply to a zero hour notice brought by UDP legislator from Mookaiaw Nujorki Sungoh during the Assembly session said there are norms that are followed and there is no question of anybody flouting the norms and if they do flout the norms necessary action is there to deal with them as per the law.
“Let me assure the member that this is a subject, which is close to my heart and I will personally look into these issues and I will personally go into each of the applications myself and find out what the procedures were. I would personally call a meeting at my level with the MSPCB and get back to the member (on this),” he said.
He added, “…if the procedures and norms have been followed then obviously we cannot deny anybody from going ahead with their business. If anywhere we found the norms have flouted, I assure (necessary action will be taken).”
Stating the need to strike a fine balance between ecology and economy, the chief minister said, “We realised there is an aspect of livelihood, economic growth, development that we need to do but all of this does have an impact on the environment. Hence, the best way to strike a balance in all of these cases is to have different laws, regulations and policies in place so that they are followed.”
He said that there are concerns no doubt but looking at the economic activities that we need to move forward, these are aspects which are done to bring in investments and jobs to our state.
“Therefore, it would be incorrect for us to completely look at coke plants everytime say industries that they are the villians and do bad things. That would not be a correct perception. Though, there may be issues but outrightly saying everything that is being done from an industrial development point of view is bad for us then we will not be able to achieve the economic growth that we desire and job creation will be affected. Therefore, that narrative must be changed, it is wrong for us to perceive that every single plant is bad, every single industry is bad. It is not a very correct thought process,” the CM stated.
On the health concerns, Sangma said it is part of the different economic activities that could lead to these health hazards and it is fact throughout the world, it happens everywhere and therefore there is alway a fine balance that we have to maintain.
“But indicating that because of the industrial developmental work, we are the cancer capital in the country would again be a very far fetched kind of a linkage. Yes, health concerns are there and definitely environmental effects do affect but directly linking that and said because of that all cancers are happening is again a conclusion which we are jumping to on a very extreme scale,” he said.