NGT hearing.
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: In a relief to coal mine owners in Meghalaya, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has extended the time for payment of royalty of already extracted coal in the state till February 15.
Making this announcement during the hearing held in New Delhi on Wednesday, an NGT Bench issued a directive stating that the extracted coal must be transported by May 15 next year.
“If the extracted coal is not transported by May 15 then it will become the State Government’s property and the Government will have the liberty to either sell or auction the extracted coal,” the Bench said.
Informing this, the counsel for Meghalaya government Ranjan Mukherjee said that the tribunal ordered the transfer of the royalty amount to the tune of Rs 272 crore, which is presently lying in the RBI, to the Finance department.
According to Mukherjee, the NGT also accepted his submission that the state Government was taking all steps to prevent illegal transportation of coal.
The NGT asked Mukherjee to furnish all the details regarding the steps been taken by the State Government to check illegal transportation of coal.
He informed the green tribunal that the state government had already submitted the revised mining guidelines to the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of coal.
The next hearing will be held on February 4.
