By Dr. Lakhan Kma
Enough has been said about the interim order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Principal Bench, New Delhi on the ban of ‘rat-hole’ mining in Meghalaya. I think this is one of the most significant and much-needed order that has come to save our environment. Obviously, the mine owners & coal mafias are organising public protests against this ban since it has started pinching their deep pockets. While I will not show any sympathy for those owners and coal mafias, my heart does cry for those employees, labours, transporters, tea stall owners, etc who are directly or indirectly dependent on the mining activity for their livelihood. However, it has to be made clear to them that the ban is on ‘rat-hole’ mining, not on ‘scientific’ mining of coal in Meghalaya. Knowingly, the miner owners are not emphasizing on this point and instead using absurd arguments and unsustainable pretexts to raise the indigenous causes to challenge the validity of the ban. Time has come for the State Government, NGOs and all those dependents on coal mining activity to ask the mine owners to start scientific mining of coal as it is happening in Odisha, Karnataka or anywhere in the country or the world.
The order of the NGT dated 17th April 2014 on application no. 73/2014 and M.A. No. 174/2014 passed by the five member bench in the case filed by All Dimasa Students Union & Dima Hasao Dist. Committee vs. State of Meghalaya & Ors is clearly on rat-hole mining only. An excerpt of the applicant/appellant main contention is “….contended that this sort of rat-hole mining operations have been in practice in the Jaintia Hills of the State of Meghalaya for many years without being regulated by any law and extraction of coal has been made by unscrupulous elements in a most illegal and unscientific manner. ….there are umpteen numbers of cases where by virtue of rat-hole mining, during the rainy season, water flooded into the mining areas resulting in death of many number of individuals including employees/workers”. Indeed the NGT took cognisance of the applicant’s citation of detailed report of the research work of a Professor of NEHU on the entire aspect of the coal mining in the State of Meghalaya using the ‘primitive’ mining method commonly known as ‘rat-hole’ mining practice. This work has documented that this primitive and unscientific practice has resulted in air, water and soil pollution and damage to the ecology of the area, which none of us can contest unless we choose to close our eyes and minds deliberately.
The final para of the NGT order says and I quote, “Accordingly, while admitting the application, we direct the Chief Secretary, Government of Meghalaya and the Director General of Police, State of Meghalaya to ensure that rat-hole mining/illegal mining is stopped forthwith throughout the State of Meghalaya and any illegal transport of coal shall not take place until further orders passed buy his Tribunal. The Director General of Police, State of Meghalaya is also directed to report to this Tribunal about the compliance of the order by the next date of hearing”. Now, in light of the interim order passed by the NGT in right earnest, any sensible person will understand that the ban has come against rat-hole mining only, and not on scientific mining of coal in the entire State of Meghalaya. For scientific mining, no one has to even approach the NGT, since its order in this case has no jurisdiction on the scientific mining aspects which has not been dwelt upon while passing this order.
Scientific mining requires scientific know-how and involves heavy machines and creation of mining infrastructure up to the mines, which will requires investment by the mine owners. The point is affecting them since the margin of profit will go down. Every mine owners want to exploit their plot of land to the maximum with minimum investment. In their quest and thirst for selfish gains, they are blinded to care for the environmental pollution they have created and the loss of precious lives. Therefore, they are hell bent on rat-hole mining only. These mine owners have forgotten that environment is not their propriety since it affects everyone in the vicinity and beyond. Let them employ well trained people or start investing on training their employees so that the mining can be undertaken in a scientific manner. In the process they will invest on creating the required infrastructure, train their employees and pay them accordingly. It will not take much from their already overflowing pockets, but the people who are putting their efforts will perhaps get their due share of the earning. This will improve the livelihoods of everyone involved directly or indirectly with the mining activity and will safeguard the clean environment which ‘Mother Nature’ has gifted us.
The NGT should stand strong on the interim ban on rat-hole mining which is in the larger interest of everyone in the State of Meghalaya and beyond and make it absolute. Every citizen has the right to a clean environment not only for the present generation but for our future generations as well. Personal gain should never be at the cost of over-exploitation of the environment and the safety of people’s lives. While the scientific mining will require preparation, in the meantime, Government, probably in collaboration with the mine owners should create a corpus fund to support those local populations who are immediately affected us an opportunity to find another door so life can go on. When timber ban was imposed by the Supreme Court in order to safeguard the environment more than a decade ago, there was huge hue and cry by those involved directly or indirectly with the timber trade, but they survived. Should this time be any different?
(The contributor teaches at NEHU and can be reached at [email protected])
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Lakhan Kma
Assistant Prof.
Department of Biochemistry, NEHU,
Shillong-793022
03642722128 (0); 9612908202 (m)