The Union Minister of State for Power, Jairam Ramesh, said New Delhi would make all possible efforts to address the concerns and fears of the government and people of the state over the mining project. The Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) is keen to invest Rs 814 crore to set up a mining and processing plant in the state’s West Khasi Hills district to extract 375,000 tonnes of “yellow cake” per annum. Though the Ministry for Forest and Environment has given its nod for the project, several social organisations of the state are opposed to it. There are apprehensions that such a project might expose the local community to radioactive hazards and have irreversible impacts on local environment.

The new coalition Government in Meghalaya is opposed to the UCIL’s project. Chief Minister Donkuper Roy recently said that the State Government would not allow uranium mining against public opinion.

Ramesh met Roy and his deputy H S Lyngdoh — one of the frontline campaigners against the UCIL project — in Shillong last Friday.  “The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) will publish a white paper on the proposed mining project, detailing the nature and quantum of the deposit, the plan to extract and process the ore and the proposed safeguards,” he said.

This would be followed up by a public debate on the issue. Besides, a team of medics from Mumbai’s famous Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital would visit the State to allay fears that uranium mining could result in an outbreak of deadly diseases.

Ramesh said the Centre might even consider setting up a nuclear power plant in Meghalaya or any other northeastern State.

Uranium deposits were first discovered in the hill-state in 1983-84. The UCIL had extracted around 630 tonnes of ‘Yellow Cake’ from a mine in West Khasi Hills. But it had to pack up in early 1990s following strong opposition by locals.