GUWAHATI: The High Court of Meghalaya resented that coal mining has continued illegally in the state despite a ban on it by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which was upheld by the Supreme Court.
During a hearing on Wednesday, the court lamented that the illegal activities continued despite its several orders issued as a consequence of the ban imposed by the NGT in 2014. The court sniffed the "State's participation and encouragement" in the illegal activities.
Referring to the ninth report of court-appointed Justice (retd) BP Katakey, the full bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justices HS Thangkhiew and W Diengdoh, said, "...the report reveals a serious issue from which it is evident that the State continues to play fast and loose with the Court."
A process is underway to auction the coal mined before the NGT ban. On September 20 this year, the Chief Secretary had filed a report stating that 32,56,715 MT of coal was available for auction. However, Justice Katakey's latest report indicated that prior to the prohibition, the total amount of coal available was 19,54,258 MT.
There are allegations galore that freshly-mined coal is mixed up with the previously-mined coal in the dumps to avoid detection.
Earlier, the court had said, “Whatever be the number of dumps, the State has to stand by the particulars furnished before Justice Katakey…It is imperative that the coal lying at such places be disposed of in accordance with law…as expeditiously as possible.”
In the order of Wednesday, the court mentioned that a large number of coke oven and ferro alloy plants were operating in the state but several of them were not granted permission to operate by the pollution control board. The court asked the government to file a report on their source of coal.
Coal mining is a lucrative business in Meghalaya. The state has scores of coal mines, many of them are allegedly owned by influential people, including politicians.
The state government invariably denies any coal mining activities but there have been several incidents of coal mine tragedies involving deaths of people since the NGT enforced the ban.