RTI reveals green violations in New Shillong Township project
Ri Bhoi advocate petitions President, PMO to take action, demands suspension of all construction
Shillong, May 1: Napoleon S Mawphniang, a citizen environmental advocate from Syadheh, Ri Bhoi, has petitioned the President and the Prime Minister’s Office demanding immediate intervention into alleged large-scale statutory violations and ecological negligence in the New Shillong Township project.
The petition was also sent to the governor of Meghalaya, the chief minister and the chief secretary.
The complaint, supported by evidence obtained through Right to Information (RTI) disclosures, revealed systemic failures in environmental governance, illegal deforestation and disregard for constitutional safeguards.
Key allegations
The seven-page complaint, dated May 1, 2025, detailed how the project proceeded without mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) clearance, violating the EIA Notification, 2006, and the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
Official RTI responses confirmed that no EIA studies were conducted, nor were public consultations held, flouting both legal mandates and indigenous rights under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Between 2019 and 2022, 1,744 trees were illegally felled for infrastructure development, generating ₹5.5 lakh in auction proceeds. Shockingly, compensatory afforestation required under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, was never implemented.
The Forest Department admitted to having no records of replanting efforts or disaster risk assessments for landslides and floods, despite the region’s ecological fragility.
Constitutional and legal breaches
The project blatantly ignored constitutional duties under Articles 48A and 51A(g) to protect the environment. It also violated Supreme Court precedents, including the Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum and M.C. Mehta cases, which enshrine the Precautionary Principle and Public Trust Doctrine.
By bypassing central approval for forest land diversion, the project contravened the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and the National Green Tribunal’s directives on compensatory afforestation.
“This isn’t merely bureaucratic oversight, it’s institutionalised environmental vandalism,” said Mawphniang. “The RTI evidence exposes a web of apathy: no EIA, no public voice, no disaster planning, and trees massacred without accountability. When a Forest Department doesn’t know if an EIA exists for a project of this scale, it’s a red flag for ecological collapse.”
He emphasised the hypocrisy of India’s climate commitments: “While global summits tout afforestation, here in Meghalaya, we’re bulldozing forests to build legislative buildings. This isn’t development; it’s a war on our children’s future.”
Remedial demands
The petition urged immediate suspension of all construction until a court-monitored EIA is completed; a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe fund misappropriation and official collusion; criminal prosecution of erring officials under anti-corruption and environmental laws; ecological restoration via compensatory afforestation at a 1:3 ratio (5,232 trees); Designation of biodiversity heritage sites to protect remaining ecosystems.
Call to action
Copies of the complaint have been forwarded to the National Green Tribunal, Supreme Court, Meghalaya High Court and the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.
Mawphniang urged the civil society and the media to amplify the issue. “Silence is complicity. We must hold power accountable before the Shillong Plateau becomes another case study in ecological ruin,” he added.
