Dharamtul: A public hearing on a proposed cement grinding unit at Dharamtul in Central Assam’s Morigaon district allegedly turned into a farce on Friday (August 28, 2026), as the administration did not allow villagers opposing the unit to register their submissions at the hearing.
The public hearing took place at Khanduba in Dharamtul, under Jagiroad sub-division in Morigaon district, in the presence of District Administration officials as well as officials of the Assam State Pollution Control Board.
Locals alleged that the public hearing was concluded abruptly, without allowing anyone who had come to register opposition to the proposed cement grinding unit of Max Cement to speak.
Denied entry to the hearing venue, villagers from Khanduba and South Dharamtul staged protests, saying they would never allow Max Cement to set up the unit.
Also read: Assam: Residents flag major gaps in draft EIA ahead of Max Cement public hearing in Morigaon
The villagers alleged that while people from the villages who would be directly affected by the cement unit were not allowed inside the venue, villagers from far-off places were brought in by the company to show support for the project.
“We don’t want a polluting cement plant here. If such an industry is set up, people will suffer from various diseases. The dust emission will create various health issues. We will also face a water crisis here, as the factory will extract groundwater,” said Jonti Deka, a local woman from Khanduba who came to protest against the cement plant.
She said the villagers would launch a massive protest if the unit was not suspended.
Deka alleged that people from far-off areas like Ahotguri, who have no direct link to the project, were brought in vehicles arranged by the company to show support at the hearing.
Biswajit Deka, a local youth, said villagers had submitted letters to the Jagiroad sub-division’s Co-DC opposing the plant but received no response.
Sources said a few local BJP leaders favouring the plant allegedly stopped people from speaking against the project midway, even as they wanted to raise objections to the EIA report during the hearing.
“During the hearing, I wanted to raise some questions on the discrepancies in the EIA report. Although officials present at the hearing allowed me to speak, some local political party leaders barred me from speaking, and I could not make my point at the hearing,” said Rakesh Hazarika, executive director of the Centre for Efficient Governance.
Company purchased agricultural land through middleman without disclosing it was for a cement plant
Local residents alleged that Max Cement purchased around 70 bighas of agricultural land from different landowners through a middleman.
They alleged that when the land was purchased through the middleman, the company never disclosed that a cement grinding unit would be built there.
“The middleman approached the landowners saying they wanted to buy land for the construction of a godown. At that time, they never said it would be for a cement plant,” said Dhaniram Deka, 47, a local resident who opposes the project.
A letter dated June 20, 2024, from Green Valley Industries Limited — the parent company of Max Cement — to a local organisation of Dharamtul, accessed by Northeast Now, also shows the company stating that it wanted to build a house at Khanduba and requesting the organisation to allot it one bigha of land at Khanduba in East Dharamtul. The letter also requested access to an existing road near an embankment so that the company could use it to reach the proposed house.
Sources said that after the land was purchased, it was converted to industrial land in official records, with documents showing the land had not been used for agricultural purposes for several years. Some influential ministers and officials are alleged to have played a role in this process.
Northeast Now sent detailed queries to Green Valley Industries Limited seeking their response to the allegations raised in this report, but did not receive any reply. The story will be updated with their response if and when it is received.
A habitat for wild elephants and a stopover for migratory birds
Locals also expressed concern over the threat to migratory birds, the river dolphin and elephants from the proposed Max Cement grinding unit.
“The paddy field where the unit is proposed is an elephant habitat. Elephant herds often come to the paddy field, as well as to the nearby wetland, from the Amsoi and Kholahat reserve forests in search of water and food. If the cement unit is built, the elephants will lose their habitat for food and water, and they will come into conflict with villagers. As a result, human-elephant conflict will increase further,” said Dhaniram Deka.
The Kholahat reserve forest, just three kilometres from the project site, serves as a recognised natural passage and corridor for wild elephants moving through the Morigaon and Nagaon fringe regions near Nellie and Jagiroad.
The area is also a stopover for migratory birds during winter.
“Every year during winter, especially in November, the Amur Falcon — the world’s longest-distance migrating raptor — is sighted in the wetland here. The birds make a stopover here, staying for around 15 to 20 days during their flight from south-eastern Siberia and northern China to their wintering grounds on the southern and eastern African coasts. In a bird count we conducted last year, we recorded more than two thousand birds. If the plant is built, these birds will never be seen here again, because the wetland will dry up as huge quantities of groundwater are extracted for the unit, and the water will be polluted by effluent released from the cement plant,” said Gaurab Talukdar, a local conservationist and wildlife documentary filmmaker.
He said that due to ongoing construction activities, the number of birds visiting the area has already dwindled.
Another major concern raised by local residents is the threat to the river dolphin found in the Kopili river. A Wildlife Institute of India (WII) study conducted in 2024 recorded five river dolphins in the Kopili.
The Wildlife Institute of India’s 2025 Gangetic River Dolphin Population Estimation report — released by the Prime Minister at the National Board for Wildlife meeting in March 2025 — recorded the first-ever sighting of Gangetic river dolphins in the Kopili river, with an estimated five dolphins now confirmed in the river.
“There is a water channel connecting the wetland and paddy field to the Kopili river. If the plant is set up, the effluent or sewage released from it will reach the river through this channel, contaminating the water and posing a serious threat to the dolphins,” Talukdar said.
The proposed project site is approximately 80 metres from the Kopili river.
BJP leaders accused of threatening locals
Sources said local BJP leaders and land brokers allegedly threatened villagers against attending the public hearing and opposing the project.
“Some local leaders of the BJP and land brokers asked many villagers not to attend the public hearing. They said that if people did not support the cement plant, their names would be removed from the beneficiary lists of Assam government schemes,” said a local youth, requesting anonymity.
He also said the administration informed villagers about the public hearing only one day in advance, on August 27. “It was done this way so that fewer people could come to the public hearing to oppose the project,” he said.
Issues with the EIA report
The draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Max Cement’s proposed grinding unit at Dharamtul has raised serious questions over the adequacy and reliability of its ecological assessment.
“The EIA itself acknowledges the presence of the endangered, Schedule-I Indian elephant and notes that elephants damage crops in the area, but the Wildlife Conservation Plan submitted with the project does not mention elephants even once, nor does it provide any elephant-specific mitigation measures. That means there is no elephant-specific mitigation plan, no elephant movement or corridor assessment, no human-elephant conflict mitigation plan, no elephant early-warning mechanism, and no elephant-related budget,” said Rakesh Hazarika.
“If the project’s own EIA confirms elephants are present and causing crop damage, why has the species been completely omitted from the Wildlife Conservation Plan?” Hazarika questioned.
He further said the proposed plant is located only about 80–100 metres from the Kopili river, yet the EIA contains no assessment of the Gangetic river dolphin. It also omits any mention of the Amur Falcon, despite documented seasonal sightings at Dharamtul in November 2023 and November 2024, while nearby wetlands have not been adequately assessed for cumulative ecological impacts.
“How can an EIA for an industrial project barely 100 metres from the Kopili river claim to provide an adequate ecological assessment without even assessing aquatic megafauna?” Hazarika questioned.
He said three nearby schools appear to have been missed in the EIA. The report lists only 12 schools within a 10-km radius but apparently omits Bholukaguri L.P. School, Borbori Namashudra Primary School, and Borbori L.P. School.
Hazarika said the credibility of the EIA is further undermined by apparent copy-paste errors, including references to Gujarat’s Wild Ass Sanctuary and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board in a report meant for an Assam project, besides a reference to “spoonbill populations” in the section on River Tern conservation.
The EIA also contains an unexplained contradiction over the area’s groundwater — describing the aquifer as productive and of good quality in one section, while elsewhere classifying the project area as falling under a “saline zone” as per the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA). These discrepancies raise questions over whether the environmental baseline was adequately prepared and verified for the Dharamtul site.
Hazarika also pointed out that references to the Wild Ass Sanctuary, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, the High Tide Line, and “spoonbill” populations all appear in what is meant to be a Morigaon, Assam project document.
“If the EIA itself confirms endangered elephants in the area, why does the Wildlife Conservation Plan not mention elephants even once? And if the project is barely 100 metres from the Kopili river, why has the EIA not assessed the Gangetic river dolphin at all?” he said.