The Hynniewtrep Integrated Territorial Organization (HITO) has launched a scathing attack on the National People’s Youth Front (NPYF), accusing it of “reckless distortion” over a recent Office Memorandum (OM) of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), dated September 8, 2025. HITO alleged that the NPYF was deliberately misrepresenting the OM to reignite the uranium mining debate in Meghalaya. In a strongly worded statement, HITO reminded the public of the turbulent Wahkaji uranium mining episode that began in 2009, when the state Cabinet under late D.D. Lapang approved a lease of 422 hectares in South West Khasi Hills to the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. (UCIL). The decision triggered widespread protests, arrests, injuries, and social unrest, before being rolled back in 2016 by the Cabinet led by Dr. Mukul Sangma, which formally revoked both the pre-project activities and the lease.
Clarifying the scope of the new MoEFCC directive, HITO stressed that the OM does not reopen uranium mining in Meghalaya. Instead, it exempts certain atomic and strategic mineral projects from public hearings under the EIA Notification, 2006, while keeping safeguards such as impact assessments, drinking water provision, medical facilities, skill development, and grievance redressal measures intact. “The OM is no blank cheque for uranium mining,” HITO said, accusing the NPYF of either “gross ignorance or deliberate distortion.” The group pointed out that uranium mining falls under the Union Ministry of Mines and Department of Atomic Energy, and cannot proceed without the consent of landowners and traditional authorities, including the Rangbah Shnong and Sordar.
HITO branded the NPYF’s move as “political opportunism” aimed at pleasing “Delhi masters,” while disregarding the sacrifices of those who had resisted uranium mining in the past. “To mislead the people without even understanding Clause 6 of the very OM they are citing only exposes the hollowness of their stand,” it said.