PRESS RELEASE: We, the landowners and farmers of Shnongrim who are directly affected by the proposed project at Lum Syrman, Elaka Nongkhlieh, would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) for standing firmly with us and raising the concerns of the people affected by the Shree Cement project.
We thank the KSU for bringing our grievances to the attention of the Government and for taking up the issues surrounding the Public Hearing held on 31 July 2026. We welcome the Government’s decision to constitute an Independent Fact-Finding Committee to examine the conduct of the Public Hearing, the participation of stakeholders and environmental concerns. We also welcome the decision to keep the activities of Shree Cement on hold until the committee completes its inquiry.
However, we want to make it clear that this cannot be the end of the matter. Our main concern as landowners of Lum Syrman remains unresolved — our demand that the land ownership and rights of the affected landowners must first be settled before any further activities connected with the project are allowed to proceed.
From the very beginning, we, the landowners, have been demanding that the land ownership issue and the rights of the genuine landowners must first be settled so that disputes, misunderstandings and unfortunate incidents can be avoided in the future. Ignoring the grievances and repeated appeals of the affected people can only increase dissatisfaction and create further unrest in society.
We understand that the recent protests and unfortunate incidents in Shillong and other parts of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills involve several issues. However, we also believe that the continued failure to properly address the grievances of the landowners and farmers of Lum Syrman has contributed to the growing sense of dissatisfaction.
We also We also strongly condemn the arrest and filing of cases against the top leaders of the KSU in connection with the incidents that occurred in Shillong on the day of the KSU rally, simply because some individuals took advantage of the situation.
We therefore demand that the Fact-Finding Committee conduct a genuine, independent and impartial inquiry, and that the landowners and farmers of Lum Syrman be given a proper opportunity to present the facts, their concerns and their grievances. The inquiry should also examine what happened on the day of the Public Hearing, including the alleged prevention of affected landowners from reaching the venue.
We once again thank the KSU for standing with the affected people and raising the voice of the public. We hope that the Government will implement its decision sincerely and will not merely put the project on hold temporarily, but will take concrete steps to resolve the grievances of the landowners and farmers.