Union Govt invites CM for coal talks

SHILLONG: Union Coal Minister Piyush Goyal has invited the new chief minister of Meghalaya to Delhi to initiate dialogue on solving the coal mining impasse.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma told reporters on Tuesday that Meghalaya has received positive vibes from the Centre on the contentious issue. However, he reminded everyone that it is likely to be an exhaustive process and certainly not free from hurdles.
“It is important for us to be the nodal point which will ensure that we move from department to department and try to resolve the issues one by one,” he said.
The new chief minister assured that his government will try to complete the “multi-layered process” at the earliest.
Asked about the BJP’s promise of resolving the issue within 180 days if it were elected, Sangma said the question should be put forward to the BJP leaders.
The chief minister maintained that the state government would put in aggressive efforts to find a solution to the problem and would move as fast as it can to address the issue.
He further said the government would follow up with the Centre on invoking Paragraph 12 A (B) of the Sixth Schedule to exempt central laws from being implemented in Meghalaya.