Urgently remove coal from East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya HC orders

Shillong: The Meghalaya High Court issued a stern directive for the removal of 1.5 lakh metric tons (MT) of re-inventoried coal from the East Jaintia Hills district by the end of February.

This order came during a public interest litigation (PIL) hearing regarding illegal coal mining and transportation within the state.

Justice Katakey submitted a 20th interim report to the court, detailing the progress made in transporting re-inventorized coal from various districts.

The court expressed satisfaction with the efforts in South Garo Hills, West Khasi Hills, and South West Khasi Hills, where the process is expected to be completed by February’s end.

There have been reports that despite available space in designated depots, authorities failed to issue transit passes for the remaining 1.5 lakh MT of coal in the district.

This delay drew a strong reaction from the court, highlighting the lack of action by concerned parties.

While the government blamed coal owners for not approaching the Deputy Commissioner’s office, the court emphasized the need for wider dissemination of information and urged the publication of public notices to expedite the process.