Shillong, May 4 : About 55 villagers from Shella are fighting desperately to get back their ancestral land from cement giant Lafarge after these villagers claimed they were tricked by agents to sell their land.
On behalf of these villagers, the Shella Action Committee (SAC) has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court and the Gauhati High Court to get back their land.
The Supreme Court in an order passed in 2008 directed the Gauhati High Court to pass an appropriate order regarding the case.
These villagers are illiterate and were tricked to sell their agricultural and horticultural land and are now totally at a loss having no source of income, said BM Roy Dolloi, legal advisor of SAC.
SAC is waiting for an early hearing to their PIL which is listed in the Gauhati High Court. “We hope the PIL would be taken up soon by the Gauhati High Court”, Dolloi said expressing optimism.
The village Dorbar (council), he added, was always against the sale of village land to the company. The General Secretary of Shella Dorbar returned a cheque of Rs 2 lakh to Lafarge company, which it had donated to the Dorbar recently, Dolloi said indicating the Council’s opposition to the Lafarge project in the area.
After purchasing and taking on lease these land from villagers, Lafarge through one of its sister companies has mortgaged it to six foreign banks and secured a loan of $ 153 million.
“How can Indian territory be mortgaged to foreign banks? I took up the matter in the Asian Development Banks (one of the financing banks) conference in Manila some years back. They (ADB officials) too expressed surprise”, Dolloi argued.
He also states that according to the State Land Transfer Act no tribal land can be sold or leased to non-tribals. Lafarge by definition under the Act is a non-tribal entity. However, in 2005, Donkupar Roy, the local MLA and the then Deputy Chief Minister in-charge of revenue gave the clearance.
A public hearing with regard to Lafarge’s project was due in 2006, but Lafarge went ahead and started its construction and began operation, Dolloi said.
Lafarge has built a plant of $ 225 million to extract limestone from Shella. The limestone is exported by a 17 km-long conveyor belt (one of the longest in the world) to its plant at Chattak, Bangladesh.
The 17 km belt was given permission to operate for 12 hours by the government, however, villagers say it runs day and night and nobody knows what is being transported through these long operations, Dolloi informed.
On behalf of these villagers, the Shella Action Committee (SAC) has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court and the Gauhati High Court to get back their land.
The Supreme Court in an order passed in 2008 directed the Gauhati High Court to pass an appropriate order regarding the case.
These villagers are illiterate and were tricked to sell their agricultural and horticultural land and are now totally at a loss having no source of income, said BM Roy Dolloi, legal advisor of SAC.
SAC is waiting for an early hearing to their PIL which is listed in the Gauhati High Court. “We hope the PIL would be taken up soon by the Gauhati High Court”, Dolloi said expressing optimism.
The village Dorbar (council), he added, was always against the sale of village land to the company. The General Secretary of Shella Dorbar returned a cheque of Rs 2 lakh to Lafarge company, which it had donated to the Dorbar recently, Dolloi said indicating the Council’s opposition to the Lafarge project in the area.
After purchasing and taking on lease these land from villagers, Lafarge through one of its sister companies has mortgaged it to six foreign banks and secured a loan of $ 153 million.
“How can Indian territory be mortgaged to foreign banks? I took up the matter in the Asian Development Banks (one of the financing banks) conference in Manila some years back. They (ADB officials) too expressed surprise”, Dolloi argued.
He also states that according to the State Land Transfer Act no tribal land can be sold or leased to non-tribals. Lafarge by definition under the Act is a non-tribal entity. However, in 2005, Donkupar Roy, the local MLA and the then Deputy Chief Minister in-charge of revenue gave the clearance.
A public hearing with regard to Lafarge’s project was due in 2006, but Lafarge went ahead and started its construction and began operation, Dolloi said.
Lafarge has built a plant of $ 225 million to extract limestone from Shella. The limestone is exported by a 17 km-long conveyor belt (one of the longest in the world) to its plant at Chattak, Bangladesh.
The 17 km belt was given permission to operate for 12 hours by the government, however, villagers say it runs day and night and nobody knows what is being transported through these long operations, Dolloi informed.
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