Assam pollution board to hold public hearing on Adani’s limestone mining in Umrangso
Guwahati: Amid ongoing protests against the government's decision to hand over hundreds of bighas of land to the Adani Group, the Assam Pollution Control Board (APCB) has scheduled a Public Hearing for a proposed limestone mining project by Ambuja Cements Limited at Umrangso in the Dima Hasao district.
Ambuja Cements is a leading Indian cement company and a subsidiary of the diversified Adani Group, which acquired the company and its subsidiary ACC Ltd in 2022.
In a notification, the APCB announced that the hearing for the South Boro Hundong Limestone Block (Part-C) is set for October 29, 2025, at 11:00 AM at Boro Lakhindong village in Umrangso. The project covers an auctioned block area of 183.00 hectares, spanning the villages of Boro Lakhindong and Tarvelangso.
The purpose of the hearing is to gather input from the community regarding the project's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Local residents, NGOs, and other stakeholders are officially invited by the APCB, which operates under the Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, to attend and share their views, concerns, and suggestions.
The APCB has also announced a separate public hearing for a similar project in the same area: the North Boro Hundong Limestone Block (Part-B), proposed by M/s. Dalmia Bharat Green Vision Limited (DBGVL).
According to the APCB notification, this block covers an area of 199.977 hectares (Non-Forest Government Land) in Boro Lakhindong village. The hearing for this second project is scheduled for October 30, 2025, at 11:00 AM, also to be held at the Boro Lakhindong village venue in Umrangso.
The two limestone blocks together comprise 2862 Bighas of land. The draft EIA reports for the Ambuja Cements project are available for public review, the APCB stated.
While the proposed projects are touted as a panacea for economic growth, they raise critical questions about the fate of the indigenous people, their ancestral lands, and the environment.
Key local organizations have expressed vehement opposition. They cite the devastating impact the mining will have on the local ecosystem and the potential displacement of indigenous communities.