Meghalaya Assembly to move resolution against uranium mining

📌 Summary:

• Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said his government would move a resolution in the 60-member Assembly to block uranium mining in the State

• The move comes under pressure from local groups opposed to mining

• Trigger: Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Atomic Energy, recently said the Centre was examining the status of uranium mining in Meghalaya

• The Khasi Students' Union (KSU) and other groups launched an anti-uranium mining movement in response

• The Centre would first need to frame rules under the proposed Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act before proceeding

• Core conflict: national energy security and nuclear fuel self-sufficiency versus tribal land rights, health and ecological concerns in a Sixth Schedule State

• Institutional dimension: Meghalaya's land is largely community-owned and administered through Autonomous District Councils under the Sixth Schedule, so Centre-driven mineral decisions face a distinct consent problem

• Background: the Domiasiat/Kylleng-Pyndengsohiong Mawthabah deposit in West Khasi Hills is among India's largest known uranium reserves, and has been stalled by local opposition for over two decades

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 — Science & Technology: nuclear energy and fuel security; Environment: mining and ecological impact; GS2 — Centre-State relations, Sixth Schedule and tribal autonomy; GS1 — tribal society.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Meghalaya has a 60-member Legislative Assembly; Conrad K. Sangma is Chief Minister
• Tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram are administered under the Sixth Schedule via Autonomous District Councils
• Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) is the PSU responsible for uranium mining in India
• India's principal operating uranium mines are at Jaduguda (Jharkhand) and Tummalapalle (Andhra Pradesh)
• Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) regulates nuclear safety in India

🔑 Key Term: Sixth Schedule — the constitutional provision creating Autonomous District Councils with legislative and executive powers over land, forests and other subjects in the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.