CM Sangma said in Meghalaya coal mining to resume after 9 years

Shillong: Coal mining is set to resume in Meghalaya after nine years, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Wednesday.

He said that the Union Ministry of Coal has granted approval to four license applicants for mining leases which will initiate scientific mining and sustainable and legally binding practices with minimum environmental impacts will be ensured.
“In a major step towards starting scientific coal mining, the Coal Ministry last month granted approval for mining leases to four applicants out of 17 prospective license applicants,” Sangma told.”

He said the mining will follow scientific methodology to ensure minimum environmental impact through sustainable and legally compliant extraction methods.
According to the Chief Minister, rehabilitation of coal mining areas and use of modern technologies like remote sensing, aerial survey and 3D modeling will be prioritized as part of scientific mining and environmental impact will be significantly reduced. will

The National Green Tribunal had in April 2014 imposed a complete ban on coal mining and transportation of coal in Meghalaya, dealing a huge blow to the state’s revenue.
As a result, the mining industry faced a negative growth of (-) 59.36 per cent and the GSDP registered a negative growth of (-) 2.82 per cent, according to the Chief Minister.
In July 2019, the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance challenged the NGT order after which the Supreme Court upheld the rights of tribal people over the natural resources of their land, including coal, but banned unscientific mining and transportation. Maintained.

Despite the NGT ban, illegal mining and transportation continued in the state and several cases were filed in various courts including the High Court.
The Chief Minister told the House in the current year’s budget session of the Assembly that about 1,900 criminal cases have been registered for illegal mining and transportation of coal, of which 1,701 are for illegal transportation and 203 for illegal mining. have been filed against Kanye.

Meanwhile, the Meghalaya High Court has ordered that no coal be exported to Bangladesh without tracing its origin.
“Coal should not be allowed to be exported to Bangladesh from any place in the State of Meghalaya unless both the State authorities and concerned LCS authorities are satisfied about the origin of the minerals and copies of the documents are secured. Such materials of origin as intended by the exporter,” a division bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee said in an order issued on Tuesday.
The bench, while hearing a case, also directed the Assam and Gasuapara Land Customs Station (LCS) authorities to answer questions regarding the huge quantity of coal exported by a company.

The court said that the Assam authorities have to tell whether it was possible for the company to buy such a large quantity of coal from the open markets of the Beltola area and whether it was true.