‘You need investment from outside’: Meghalaya CM backs Shree Cement project, says concerns will be examined

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has defended the state government's push to attract outside investment, saying industrial growth was essential for creating jobs while assuring that concerns surrounding the proposed Shree Cement project would not be ignored.

Speaking in the Meghalaya Assembly on August 25, Sangma said investment was necessary for the state's economic progress and described Shree Cement's proposed investment as a positive development.

"For any state, any country to move forward, you need investment from outside. That is what growth is," Sangma said.

He said Shree Cement, which he described as the country's second-largest cement company, was seeking to invest in Meghalaya and argued that the state should consider the potential benefits of such an investment.

"Investment happens, growth happens when investment takes place," the chief minister said.

However, Sangma acknowledged concerns over the project, particularly those surrounding the public hearing held for it in East Jaintia Hills. He stressed that attracting investment would not mean bypassing legal or regulatory requirements.

"It does not mean that we are going to bulldoze any concern. It does not mean that we are going to not follow any rules or regulations," he said.

The chief minister told the House that the government had constituted a fact-finding committee to examine the concerns raised over the public hearing for the Shree Cement project.

"We will ensure that we go into all the different aspects and concerns that are being raised by the people," Sangma said.

The issue has emerged as one of the key demands of the Khasi Students' Union (KSU), which has accused officials of preventing people from attending the July 31 public hearing for the proposed project in East Jaintia Hills.

The KSU has sought action against the Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Police, senior police officials and Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board officials over the conduct of the hearing.

The student organisation is also set to hold talks with the state government on Wednesday, August 26, following an invitation from the administration. The meeting is scheduled for 6 pm at the Conference Hall of the Meghalaya Secretariat, with Sangma expected to meet KSU representatives.

The talks follow violence during a KSU motorcycle rally in Shillong on August 19. Police said 31 vehicles were damaged, 18 people were injured and two vehicles were set on fire during the clashes.

Four senior KSU leaders — president Raymond Kharjana, vice-president Pynkmenlang Sanmiet, general secretary Reuben Najiar and assistant general secretary Jememiah Pohthmi — were arrested in connection with the violence and are currently lodged in Shillong District Jail.

The KSU's wider demands include implementation of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, 2016, while the state awaits an Inner Line Permit system, as well as facilitation centres at all 18 entry points in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills.

It has also sought implementation of the amended Migrant Workmen Act, 2020, and changes to recruitment rules at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS).

On the Shree Cement issue, Sangma said economic development and environmental and social safeguards must go together.

"The intention of our government is to bring in investment because it is with investment and industrial growth and economic growth that jobs are created," he said.

"While we bring in investment from outside, yes, we need to protect our people. We need to protect our environment."

Sangma said the government would rely on existing procedures and safeguards while examining the concerns raised over the project.

"There are measures for it. There are procedures for it. And that's what we should stick to and follow," he said.