JSU files PIL in Meghalaya High Court challenging Shree Cement Public Hearing; Warns of mass agitation if State inaction persists

A central delegation of the Jaintia Students’ Union (JSU), led by Education Secretary Bocheru Mi Pohsnem and General Secretary Neilkee Mukhim, officially filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on August 24, before the Hon’ble High Court of Meghalaya. The PIL challenges the heavily militarized, fraudulent Environmental Public Hearing held on July 31, 2026, for the proposed Shree Cement Limited mining project at Lum Syrman, Elaka Nongkhlieh, East Jaintia.
Despite formal representations and multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) submitted to the district administration and police, the State Government has failed to take any corrective measures or halt the clearance process. While formal complaints and proceedings before the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission (MHRC) and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) remain underway and decisive action is awaited, the authorities on the ground continue to turn a blind eye.
The mandatory public hearing was reduced to an exclusionary, 46-minute where legitimate indigenous stakeholders and local landowners were deliberately blockaded and prevented from participating.
In a planned bid to suppress democratic dissent, armed goons and corporate mercenaries assaulted peaceful protesters and ambushed a JSU emergency medical ambulance on a humanitarian mission. The driver Rapbor Mukhim, sustained grievous head injuries from stones and catapults.
Instead of acting against the armed goons who destroyed public infrastructure, the police administration used tear gas against peaceful indigenous youth and diluted the FIR into weak, bailable sections to shield the attackers.
The JSU Central Body underscored that approaching the High Court is the final institutional recourse to safeguard the fundamental rights and dignity of the indigenous people. “We hope the High Court won’t see us as mere cockroaches and will deliver justice as the situation is.”
The union declared that if the High Court fails to take cognizance of this state-sponsored injustice, the JSU, along with civil society, will have no choice but to take to the streets and initiate intense public agitation measures across the region until justice is fully delivered.