SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said on Monday the previous government under Mukul Sangma did nothing to solve the problems following the NGT ban on coal mining and pointed out that the idea of a nodal agency for mining was “destructive”.
Conrad, who was reacting to Mukul’s accusation that the MDA government was facilitating illegal mining, said there was no evidence or action to prove the allegation. “In fact, the government is strict about it and is taking necessary action,” he added.
The chief minister pointed out that there was no streamlining of the Mining Department in the past four years.
When the MDA government took over, it found that its predecessor, the MUA-II government, had already given its consent to the Meghalaya Mineral Development Corporation (MMDC) to take charge of all the coal mines, which meant that mines would be taken away from owners, Conrad said and added, “That move was destructive for the common man. The state government has been able to go back to the decision to convince the Union Government to ensure that mines remain with the people”.
The Supreme Court, in line with the decision of the state government, has asked the Centre whether certain sections of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act can be exempted, Conrad informed.
“The Centre has prepared its views and it has also written to the Meghalaya government about the state’s action plan for environment if certain sections of the act are exempted. Some companies which are technically sound in developing coal plants have been engaged and the government is replying to the Union Government on the matter which could have been done in the past four years but nothing was done,” Conrad said.
The state government is hoping to get the exemptions and will reply to the Supreme Court. The next hearing on the matter is fixed on November 12.
The previous Mukul Sangma-led government was also pilloried by Conrad for not working on the environment aspect in mining, which the MDA government is doing.
“The government has started streamlining the whole process and it is very close to seeing that things are normal in few months,” he added.
Meanwhile reacting to a query about the frequent transfer of officers, Conrad said the previous government had transferred more than 100 officers in 2017-18 and “so they should not blame the government while maintaining that it is a normal procedure”.
He also said there were demands that the post of director of mining should be held by a technical person and “the government is doing everything in the interest of the department and people”.
