NEW DELHI: There seems to be no end to the impasse over ban on coal mining in Meghalaya at least for a year with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordering setting up of a high level committee headed by a retired high court judge to supervise the issue of environmental restoration plan and related matters following the ban.
Justice Adharsh Kumar Goyel, Chairperson of the NGT, passed the order on Friday to the discomfiture of all the miners, the state government, the Centre and the petitioners.
“Till further judicial orders, the entire mined coal in the state will be under the custody of the state government,” the order said.
“The committee will have other government officials and experts and it will submit its report within in a year,” it added.
The written copy of the order will be available on Tuesday because of three days’ court holiday.
The Meghalaya government had already assigned a group of ministers to examine the four-year-old NGT ban on rat-hole coal mining, which was the source of livelihood for several thousands and a revenue earner for the state.
This was stated by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma following a meeting with the State Coordination Committee of Coal Owners and Mine Dealers’ Forum earlier.
The ban was based on a petition by the All Dimasa Students’ Union and the Dima Hasao District Committee before the tribunal alleging that coal mining in Jaintia Hills of the state has turned the water of the Kopili river acidic.
According to a source, the ban has resulted in revenue loss of more than Rs 600 crore for the state government over the years. Rat-hole mining has been a traditional practice in the state but large scale mining started in the early 1980s.
