Friday, March 29, 2024
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Coal Transport, its negative externalities and the NGT

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Editor,
There  has  been a lot of hue and cry regarding the National Green Tribunal (NGT)  ban  on  the extraction and transportation of coal with the Tribunal having  extended  the  time  for transportation of extracted coal till 30th June,  2015  on the demand of the State Government and other stakeholders. The Tribunal  should act deliberately and decisively in this regard as the state is not  in  a  position to deal with the negative externalities resulting from the  transportation  of  coal.  Rules  are  being flouted and institutional mechanisms  set  up  in  the  state turn a blind eye. For instance, a major river  in West Jaintia hills, Malidor is facing imminent risk due to dumping of  unloaded  coal by weighbridge officials in the region for carrying coal beyond  the permissible limit.  It has also been observed that truckers are resorting  to  unloading  excess  coal  along  the roadside up to  the weigh bridge.   There   have  also  been  increasing  incidents  of  dumping  and stockpiling  of  coal  on  the  road side  along  the National Highway 40, Shillong  Bye-Pass  Road in Ri Bhoi district. A 2004 report published by the Centre  for  Environmental Studies, North-Eastern Hill University indicated that  roadside  dumping has been a major contributor to air, water and soil pollution.
Pollution  control  measures  stipulated  by  the Central Pollution Control Board  such  as  covering  the  trucks with tarpaulin, creating a sprinkler system  at  coal  storage  places  to  minimize coal dust and ensuring that trucks are not overloaded to prevent any spillage during transportation are not  being  followed. This is a  glaring  violation of environmental norms. The report  also  iterates  that  the  off  road  movement  of trucks and other vehicles,  in the region for coal transportation adds to the ecological and environmental  damage  of the region. The water quality as a result of such activities  have become hazardous and toxic and have been severely affected by  acid  mine drainage the source of which is the leaching of heavy metals and  coal  siltation. As per the findings by a Committee constituted by the
NGT in its order dated June 9,  2014, it was observed that the pH of mine drainage  was  found  to  be less than 3, in the case of all the 21 samples that  were  analyzed  indicating a high acidity level. As a result, most of the  water  bodies  in  the  coal  mining  belt  have high concentration of sulphates,  iron,  low  dissolved  oxygen (DO) and high BOD and toxic heavy metals.  The  acidic  content  in  the water is also affecting the soil quality,  making  it  rich in inorganic content and therefore affecting the crop yield and low agricultural activity as witnessed in Jaintia hills.
With  the  State  facing  shortage  of potable drinking water and a host of health problems due to water contamination by acid mine drainage, it cannot afford  to  take these issues lightly. The state government should expedite serious  steps  in  cleaning  up  the  water  bodies  by  engaging with the scientific  community  and  academia and looking at the experiences of land reclamation and land restoration practices undertaken by Coal India Limited in  its  subsidiaries.  With  the  failure of the state to frame the mining policy,  mining  plan  and  guidelines  as directed under the orders of the Tribunal  and its failure to keep a check on illegal mining activities, the NGT should clamp down on the state and enforce a ban on mining as well as a ban  on the transportation of coal until the State take explicit and  corrective measures such as restoration and reclamation of mined sites so  as  to  enhance  and  restore  the  ecology  and mitigate environmental degradation.  The  NGT  needs to step up and enforce stricter compliance of environmental norms in the interest of the general public so as to ensure a more sustainable future as well as mitigate climate change impacts.
Yours etc., ,
Jonathan Donald Syiemlieh (Research Associate), Centre for Resource and Environmental Governance
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi.

Wanted selfless leaders!

Editor,
Balajied Kharshandi’s letter “Long live our leaders,” is very disquieting. To start with, the writer said that he was happy and takes great pride in the fact that “Daniel Khyriem and other pro-ILP group leaders will be acquitted of all their crimes.” At least one thing is established by the writer and that is that the above leaders did commit crimes. Thus they are criminals in the eyes of the law and must be dealt with as criminals. The law must take its course and bring justice to the innocent victims and their families. For decades now we have witnessed the way these pressure groups have taken the law into their hands on the pretext of saving “ka jaitbynriew”. While their demands have only increased, the truth remains that they are yet to achieve any of their demands. Instead their agitation programmes that include criminal acts have always subsided after a short span of time.
The writer must be really naive to think that the leaders work “without wanting power, money, fame or pleasure.” We have seen how leaders of such pressure groups climb the ladder of power and wealth in the political arena. To simply say that they have no personal benefits or craving is untrue. If their concern is really “the benefit of the poor and the downtrodden then why not target issues that concern the poor. If they are really the “saviours of the jaitbynriew” then why not be more sensitive and fight for causes like child labour (many young boys can be seen selling kwai on their little baskets instead of studying in a school), our old and aged are seen trying to make ends meet, health care is poor, education and unemployment is coal mining, scams and a whole lot of other crucial issues that do not bother these selfless groups. Why not “work day and night” on such issues?
One wonders if “simple living, honesty, courage, humility, wisdom, hard work and purity” do really define the leaders of the pressure groups. One wonders if parents and elders would ever look up to these leaders of pressure groups as the most befitting examples and role models for their children. Certainly arson, killing, etc are no acts of heroism that we would like our children to emulate. A crime is a crime and there is nothing holy and unholy about it (arson, killing, etc)  I believe that if we only follow the path of righteousness and have a clean, honest and humble heart, and the courage to love and respect our fellow human beings irrespective of our caste, creed, colour and religion this world will be a better and happier place to live in. If only we can let go of all our inhibitions, suspicion and fear, life on earth would not be a living hell but a safe haven of peace, progress and prosperity.
Yours etc.,
Jennifer Dkhar,
Via email

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