SHILLONG: To end the stalemate over the transportation of extracted coal, the representatives of coal miners will meet Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Wednesday at his office chamber.
Earlier on Monday, the coal miners’ body met the NGT-constituted committee functionaries Principal Secretary KS Kropha and Commissioner and Secretary MS Rao to discuss the issue of payment of royalty.
The coal miners also wanted the NGT committee to allow transportation of coal through private weighbridges as there are only two official weigh bridges, one at Jowai , and another at Athiabari.
The coal miners urged the NGT-constituted committee to allow them to transport coal after paying the first installment of royalty and not after paying the royalty for all the three installments.
According to NGT, the entire extracted coal will not be allowed to be transported before clearance of the entire royalty amount.
As per the order of October 7 of NGT, the amount of royalty can be paid by the mine owner in accordance with law in three equal installments-first would be payable forthwith, second within 30 days and third within 15 days thereafter
The order said that the entire amount of royalty shall be paid within 45 days.
However, as per the section 8 of the order, any clarification in relation to the payment of royalty or computation of weight can be sought from the NGT committee, and it will be in the “discretion of the committee to pass appropriate order in this regard, correctness whereof can be challenged before the Tribunal”.
It was based on the section 8 that the coal miners approached the NGT Committee regarding the payment of royalty, but in vain which compelled them to meet the Chief Minister on Wednesday.
