Shillong, Nov. 27: The meeting to break the deadlock on uranium mining in West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya failed to make any headway, with the state government expressing reservations about the health hazards and calling for a consensus among the people on the issue.

The meeting in New Delhi last night, convened by Prithviraj Chauhan, Union minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), saw Meghalaya’s deputy chief minister H.S. Lyngdoh voicing his reservations on the project. Chief minister Donkupar Roy, his cabinet colleagues and officials from both the atomic energy department and the state government attended the meeting.

Speaking to this correspondent over phone from New Delhi, Lyngdoh today said he wanted the Centre to clear the doubts on health hazards. Lyngdoh, a veteran leader from West Khasi Hills, where many uranium mining sites are located, has been opposing mining from the latter part of the Eighties when the first exploratory mining of uranium was undertaken. His party, the HSPDP, was also opposed to uranium mining and this was reflected in the party manifesto released during the past Assembly elections.

“I opposed mining of uranium during the meeting and told the Union minister and the officials of the atomic energy department that they cannot protect the people of West Khasi Hills from radiation”, Lyngdoh said.

Chief minister Donkupar Roy said the doubts over health hazards needed to be settled before starting the uranium mining project. “Moreover, we would like to have a consensus on the issue of uranium mining”, he said.

During the meeting, the Union minister and the atomic energy department officials conveyed to the state that the uranium mining project, worth more than Rs 1,000 crore, would lead to overall development in the area. They also assured the state government that not a single family would be displaced by mining operations.