SHILLONG: With pressure mounting against proposed exploratory mining for uranium in Balpakram National Park from environment groups and student bodies, the DAE move suffered a major setback as an inspection team has refused to visit the site. National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) member B Talukdar, assigned to lead an inspection team to the site, has refused to conduct the work "as several NGOs expressed their discontentment over the 'inspection' of the heritage national park." The team was to visit the site in order to ascertain people's views on the proposal of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to conduct exploratory drilling for uranium inside the park. "It is not proper for me to visit the Balpakram national park and carry out an inspection," Talukdar told The Shillong Times on Friday. Disclosing that he has already intimated his decision to the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), Talukdar said, "The proposed exploratory drilling has received stiff opposition from the people of Meghalaya and being a person from the region, I don't want to see any conflict between the people." Meanwhile, sources said a new team of NBWL will be constituted excluding Talukdar to carry out the inspection work in the park. According to reports, the DAE has asked the MoEF to de-notify an area of eight sq km on the Rongcheng plateau along the environs of Balpakram National Park. Earlier, a delegation of GSU also met Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma and expressed their opposition to the exploratory drilling and proposed visit of the inspection team to the park. KSU refutes report: Meanwhile, the KSU has refuted the MoEF report which claimed the proposed uranium mining site in Nongbah-Jynrin in West Khasi Hills District is a wasteland. "The MoEF should not mislead the people by giving wrong information, KSU general secretary Hamlet Dohling said claiming that the land is being used by the people for cultivation.