Meghalaya Gets 15-Day Ultimatum to End 'Faceless' Illegal Coal Trade
A one-member judicial committee appointed by the Meghalaya High Court has directed the State government to submit a comprehensive action plan within 15 days to address the 'faceless' nature of illegal coal mining and transportation in the State.
In its 38th interim report submitted to the High Court on June 17, the committee headed by Justice (retired) B.P. Katakey expressed concern that authorities have been unable to identify the principal operators behind illegal coal extraction and transportation, despite large-scale seizures and the presence of unmonitored open pits.
The committee, constituted in April 2022, is tasked with ensuring compliance with the Supreme Court's and the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) ban on hazardous 'rat-hole' coal mining and checking illegal coal transportation in Meghalaya.
According to the report, the State government must frame a comprehensive action plan within 15 days to stop illegal coal mining activities, including transportation, across the entire State. The directive follows a review of action plans submitted by the North Garo Hills, East Garo Hills, and South Garo Hills districts. While these districts established task forces and conducted joint checking operations, the committee noted that their plans lacked a critical component: official accountability.
The panel proposed a State-wide enforcement plan that identifies vulnerable areas, establishes dedicated enforcement units headed by responsible officers, and assesses manpower requirements. It also recommended setting up check-gates and police outposts along high-risk transit routes.
The committee acknowledged that while some districts are coal mining hubs and others function primarily as transit routes, the 'ground realities cannot be used as an excuse to bypass' a unified enforcement framework.
The NGT banned rat-hole coal mining in Meghalaya in April 2014, following reports that children were employed to extract coal from narrow tunnels that an average-height adult has to crawl through. The Supreme Court subsequently upheld the ban. Despite the ban, illegal mining and transportation have persisted, often with the involvement of unidentified actors, prompting the committee to describe the trade as 'faceless'.
