Congress submits memorandum to Guv against 9,000 bigha mining project in Dima Hasao

Guwahati, Oct 23: A delegation of senior Congress leaders submitted a memorandum to Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya on Tuesday, raising serious concerns over the state government’s alleged move to allocate approximately 9,000 bighas of land in Dima Hasao district to benefit a corporate group.

The Congress delegation, led by Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) chief Bhupen Kumar Borah and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Debabrata Saikia, met the Governor to express the grievances of local communities from Borolokhindong, Tharvelangso, and surrounding villages regarding the proposed mining project.

According to the memorandum, the state government’s decision to allocate land in Dima Hasao for mining is being done to favour a corporate entity allegedly linked to the ruling BJP, without considering the welfare and sentiments of the indigenous people.

“The Chief Minister of Assam is making moves to allocate approximately 9,000 bighas of land in the Dima Hasao district to benefit a corporate group with close ties to the BJP. The state government is disregarding the concerns and sentiments of the indigenous communities in Dima Hasao. This issue is a matter of survival and safeguarding the land and rights of the district's local people,” the memorandum stated.

The Congress further alleged that land from these villages has been auctioned off for mining purposes without consulting the local communities. “We became aware of this only through a public advertisement by the Directorate of Geology and Mining, Govt of Assam,” the memorandum added.

The Karbi Students’ Union, also involved in the protest, expressed relief after submitting the memorandum to the Governor. "If 9,000 bighas of land is mined, then the space for us will be reduced. Many lands in our area have already been mined, and we have repeatedly requested a halt to these operations, but our pleas were ignored,” they said collectively.

The Congress delegation highlighted that Dima Hasao district has already sacrificed significant portions of its land for various industrial and development projects since 1976.

These include displacement caused by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) dams, coal quarries run by Assam Minerals Development Corporation (AMDC), and several cement plants, among others.

“These projects have already impacted numerous families and our environment,” the memorandum read, underscoring the cumulative toll of such ventures on local communities in the district.

The Congress party and local organisations now await a response from the Governor, hoping for intervention in what they describe as a critical issue of land and livelihood protection in Dima Hasao.