A uranium mining project in Meghalaya proposed by the Department of Atomic Energy has been rejected by the National Board on Wildlife (NBWL) due to strong opposition from local communities and civil society groups.
The decision was taken after detailed discussions by the Standing Committee of the NBWL which met on Friday. According to an official release, the proposal was rejected despite the fact “that the country urgently needs to augment domestic uranium supplies,” an admission made by the Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh who chaired the meeting.
The project proposed exploratory drilling for uranium in the Rongcheng Plateau in Balphakram National Park in the South Garo Hills district of Meghalaya.
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