SHILLONG: The NGT committee headed by BP Katakey has asked the state government to probe the issue of large quantity of coal going to Bangladesh beyond what is prescribed in the challans.
“We received reports from the Customs that the quantity of coal which is exported to Bangladesh is more than what is shown in the challans”, Katakey said.
The particular case relates to coal exported to Bangladesh through Gasuapara.
Katakey said the government should probe the matter so that the reason for the discrepancy can be found out.
There are still concerns about illegal transportation of coal which the police are trying to check.
On Tuesday, the residents of Umdihar in Ri Bhoi witnessed an overturned coal-laden truck.
Besides, there were reports about coal-laden trucks parked on the highway before reaching the weighbridge in Ri Bhoi whereas other trucks are parked on many locations at Umling market and adjacent areas.
The transportation of extracted coal is banned by both the Supreme Court and the NGT and what is allowed is the auction of extracted coal.
Delay in auction policy
There are concerns over the delay on the part of the government in approving the policy for auction of coal.
Katakey said the state cabinet was supposed to approve the policy on coal auction at the earliest.
A government official said there is a need to construct coal depot in the state to weigh the already extracted coal to facilitate coal auction which has resulted in the delay.
The government is yet to come up with a statement on the allegation from several quarters that the already extracted 32 lakh metric ton of coal is an exaggerated figure so that illegal mining can be carried out.
