Meghalaya Minister claims heavy rains may have caused disappearance of 4,000 metric tonnes of illegally mined coal
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Meghalaya's Cabinet Minister and United Democratic Party MLA from the Kyrmen Shylla has kick started a controversy suggesting that heavy monsoon rains 'may have washed away over 4,000 metric tonnes of illegally mined coal'.The coal has disappeared from two depots in South West Khasi Hills district.Recently Justice (Retd) B.P. Katakey Committee submitted its 31st interim report to the Meghalaya High Court.Shylla told mediapersons in Shillong on Monday that the state's intense rainfall could have contributed to the coal's disappearance from storage sites in Rajaju and Diengngan villages.'I'm not trying to justify anything, but Meghalaya receives one of the highest amounts of rainfall in the country. Anything can happen during such downpours. There are even allegations that floods in Assam were triggered by rains here, and rainwater from East Jaintia Hills flows to Bangladesh. So, who knows—the coal might have been washed away,' Shylla said.The Meghalaya High Court, however, has taken a stern view of the missing coal.The Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) recorded 1,839.03 MT of coal at a depot in Diengngan village in the Ri-Bhoi district. However, during a recent inspection, only 2.5 MT of coal was found along with residue and traces of coal.Similarly, only about 8 MT of coal, along with residue and traces of coal, were found at the Rajaju village depot in West Khasi Hills district against 2,121.62 MT of coal recorded by the MBDA earlier.A two-judge division bench of Justices Hamarsan Singh Thangkhiew and Wanlura Diengdoh, in an order, said the matter was of concern as the illegally mined coal had been lifted and transported by unknown people despite detection.The high court directed the state government to take urgent steps to identify the individuals or officials responsible for letting the coal disappear.Shylla said there was no concrete proof to support such claims. 'There are multiple departments monitoring these activities. I believe that if our people engage in this, it is only for survival. Nobody intentionally wants to harm the state,' he said.The National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned the unscientific 'rat-hole mining' and transportation of coal in the state 10 years ago. The Supreme Court later allowed transportation of already mined coal left in the open. Prior to the 2014 ban, coal mining generated approximately Rs 700 crore in annual revenue for Meghalaya.In March this the first scientific coal mining started in a mine in East Jaintia hills.
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