Post-NGT ban
SHILLONG: The inability of the State Government to incorporate clauses in the mining policy to control the rat hole mining and phase-wise rehabilitation of miners resulted in the present crisis in the aftermath of the sudden ban on rat hole mining by National Green Tribunal on April 17.
As per the Meghalaya Mines and Mineral Policy notified on November 5, 2012 “small and traditional system of mining by local people in their own land shall not be unnecessarily disturbed”. This means that there is no blanket ban on rat hole mining in the State as per the policy.
Since the Mining Policy does not specify ban on rat hole mining, there was no mention of any rehabilitation package for the miners once the mining of coal is stopped.
The entire coal business including mining and its export stopped with the ban which, however, was not foreseen by the makers of the Mining Policy.
Moreover, the Mining Policy did not specify time bound implementation of scientific mining of coal as the policy considered rat hole mining as traditional system of extraction of coal.
A former official of mining and geology department said that lack of farsightedness on the part of the Government resulted in the current situation where the miners and those who were directly or indirectly engaged in the coal business are left with no alternate jobs following the sudden ban on rat hole mining.
While the mine workers have already left for their respective places, the coal exporters and those sustained themselves with coal-related activities are forced to live in hardships.
Ironically, one the one hand all the deputy commissioners have imposed ban on rat hole mining and transportation of coal under section 144 CrPC and on the other hand the State Government is yet to decide on any action plan in view of the next hearing of NGT related to the matter on June 2.