NGT judicial panel meets on coal issue

SHILLONG: The second meeting of the NGT-appointed judicial committee dealing with the protection of environment following the mining ban was held in the city on Wednesday.
The independent committee headed by Justice BP Katoki, a former judge of the Gauhati High Court, chaired the meeting.
Earlier on September 11, the retired judge had visited Shillong as part of the task to ensure protection of environment.
An official source on Wednesday told The Shillong Times, “It was the second meeting today. We decided to follow up on the decisions of the last meeting and one among the discussions made was opening of the website.”
The next meeting will be held on October 1 and there will be a presentation on the status of coal mining. There will be more substantial discussions on environmental issues related to coal mining, the source added.
There was representation from the Central Pollution Control Board as well.
The NGT had appointed the committee during the last hearing on August 31.
The mandate of the committee is to deal with restoration of the environment and rehabilitation of victims for which funds are available.
The committee will also supervise any issue arising out of custodianship of the already extracted coal, including any environmental issues which may arise out of storage of the extracted material by the government.
While disposing of the case, the NGT had left it to the Supreme Court to finally decide on lifting the ban on coal mining in the state and also to decide on the transportation of already extracted coal. The state government is currently the custodian of the available extracted coal.