SHILLONG: BJP senior leader Nalin Kohli has said the party would play a positive role in solving the coal mining impasses in Meghalaya though it was only a coalition partner in the state government.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, the BJP Meghalaya in charge said on Friday the party never promised that the issue would be resolved within 180 days but it had said the party would put back on track the contentious coal mining issue within 180 days of forming the next government in the state.
“But in Meghalaya it’s not a BJP government and we are only a member in the government,” he said but asserted that “whenever any help is required to sort out the issue, BJP will extend its full cooperation and play a positive role”.
The NGT had ordered an interim ban on rat-hole mining in the state since April 17, 2014, after the All Dimasa Students’ Union filed an application before the tribunal, alleging that the water of the Kopili river was turning acidic due to coal mining in the Jaintia Hills.
However, the ban became the most contentious issue before the election and many parties, including BJP, had used it as their weapon to attack the Congress-led coalition government.
When asked how the NPP was planning to end the impasse, its state president WR Kharlukhi said the party would try its best to solve this because the economy of the state and people’s livelihood are being affected.
“We are serious about the matter and the government has started making attempts to resolve the issue at the earliest,” he said.
Earlier, former chief minister Mukul Sangma had said coal could still be legally mined with the state-owned Meghalaya Mineral Development Corporation acting as an instrument to regulate mining activities in the state.
However, many coal traders in the state were opposed to the idea.
