By Nabamita Mitra
Meghalaya is endowed with substantial reserves of various minerals, including coal. But the fortune that lies hidden in the hills has turned into misfortune for the state, which is no exception in exploiting the natural reserves instead of exploring them.
Coal, which has been extensively mined in different parts of the state, is confined mainly to the tertiary sediments of Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills districts and in the Lower Gondwana sediments in West Garo Hills district and extends into the border state of Assam, says a recent report by Geological Survey of India. It further says the estimated coal reserves in Meghalaya are 576.48 million tonnes.
The black diamond had brought wealth to thousands. But for this, the state had to pay a heavy price in the form of degradation of environment. For years, both miners and the government ignored the embers and walked on them oblivious to the incinerations. In 2014, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) took note of the situation after the All Dimasa Students’ body complained about the contamination of the Kopili river due to coal mining. The Tribunal immediately banned rat-hole mining, which was mainly done in an unscientific way endangering not only the environment but also human lives.
This was the beginning of a dirty political game that continued to feed on the frustration of hundreds of jobless, innocent and ignorant people. Over the years, it turned uglier. The recent brutality unleashed on two activists who were investigating illegal coal mining in Jaintia Hills only confirmed the irreverence of the government and stirred up allegations of collusion among miners, keepers of law and the lawmakers in the state who have little or no regard for the Tribunal and definitely not for the environment or the constituents.
Since 2014 when the ban came into effect, every political party in the state, in power or in the opposition, gnawed on the livelihood crisis and forgot to mention that there was an immediate need for creating awareness among miners, big and small, on restoration and preservation of the environment and safe mining. ‘Livelihood’, for wily politicians, was a gimmick and not a concern as none took constructive measures to create alternatives.
Illegal mining: A myth?
Illegal mining, as per independent investigations, news reports and allegations of the opposition, is a reality. However, the head of the present government says no mining was carried out since the ban was imposed, which would include the tenure of the previous Congress government. This means that the present government is efficiently carrying forward the legacy of its predecessor in imposing the Tribunal’s order in letter and spirit. If it is so, hypothetically, then the case of numerous coal-laden trucks, most of which remain undetected, is a mystery.
Opinion on whether mining of coal is continuing despite the ban remains divided and sometimes uptight.
Activist Angela Rangad gives a clear definition of the term. “It is illegal in the context that there is an NGT ban post a judicial challenge in 2014 because of its polluting effects on the Kopili river. Otherwise mining is not illegal per se and has been happening for long in these hills but not in this scale. So in terms of illegal mining vis-à-vis the NGT ban the blame is squarely on the government, the previous one and this one because blatant violation of NGT orders since 2014 is possible because the government is turning a blind eye to it. And why? Because there are entrenched vested interests of many, including politicians, bureaucracy and police in mining,” she says.
Prestone Tynsong, who was in the previous government as well as in the present, is not very clear on answering the question on illegal mining. “Why is it an issue now? This government is new and it is not that it has failed. We are here to enforce law and we have instructed deputy commissioners and SPs to be vigil 24×7 and take stringent action against violators,” says an agitated Tynsong.
When Sunday Shillong spoke to the deputy chief minister, the news of the attack on the two activists being led by an NPP leader was not published.
Former High Court Judge BP Kakoty, who is heading the NGT-appointed commission to deal with restoration of environment and rehabilitation of miners, says the members visited the sites where they found abandoned rat-hole mines and dumps of coal. The committee will examine whether the coal is freshly extracted. “We cannot draw a conclusion based on news reports,” said the senior member of the monitoring panel.
State attorney Ranjan Mukherjee denies claims of illegal mining too but does not rule out violations. “The NGT order has been implemented in letter and spirit. The Tribunal, in its order of March 25, 2015, recorded 303 cases of illegal transportation of coal and the government took firm action,” he says.
“Honestly, there is no illegal mining going on now,” asserts Sonny Khyriem, the chairman of the Meghalaya State Coordination Committee of Coal Owners, Miners and Dealers’ Forum.
Whether there is illegal mining or not, there are misgivings among green activists as well as citizens, especially in the wake of detection of several coal-laden trucks and the November 8 attack in East Jaintia Hills.
John Kharshiing, the brother of assaulted activist Agnes Kharshiing, blames the Constitution for the current situation in the state “as there is no time-bound redressal mechanism to address the issues of the indigenous tribal people of the North East”.
“Unfortunately, most IAS officials at the Centre have no idea about the historical facts and lack knowledge about the customary land and social way of life of the tribes. The successive governments at the Centre have not taken steps to address these concerns on a war footing as we lack political clout in Parliament,” points out Kharshiing.
Meanwhile, the blame game between the ruling party and the opposition continues with each side changing tunes as per its convenience. Illegal transportation of coal, the deadline for which was extended twice, also continues and extracted coal from before the ban seems to be inexhaustible.
But the truth is, “there are various aspects of the problem” and seeing it from one side of the prism will only give a distorted image.
Naba Bhattacharjee, who was appointed by the NGT as commissioner to monitor the situation post ban, says the genesis of the fiasco was environmental pollution due to rat-hole mining and not ‘illegal mining’.
Ostrich syndrome
To err is human and to check the err there are laws. But mining in Meghalaya, especially of coal, went on unabated, unhindered and without any law. Miners stooped to greed and dug into the earth for more money. The blinkered horde of imbeciles was supported by another group of crafty but dull-witted men who constituted successive governments because the coffers were filling up, for some at the individual level.
In the meantime, the pristine nature, the fresh water sources, the daunting caves and human life were being endangered.
In 1990-91, the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) found out that river water near coal mines was turning acidic but no steps were taken to prevent that, says Kakoty, adding that had the board acted then, things would not have spiralled out of control.
Why did the board develop an ostrich syndrome? CP Marak, the chairperson of the State Pollution Control Board, says why the board did not take corrective measures is a difficult question to answer. “However, PCB is responsible for monitoring. Earlier too, its function was the same. The monitoring still continues and it is monthly,” he explains the role of the board.
Livelihood & environment
Marak says coal mining in the state was earlier similar to a “cottage industry” and the question of preserving environment or having mechanised mining came up only after the NGT ban.
The rat-hole or box mining on small plots of private land not only degraded the soil, water and air but also threatened lives of mine workers. A spate of deaths due to mine cave-in was recorded in the mid 2000 prompting the media to press the alarm button. A series of reports was published in the local and the national media on how the crudest form of mineral exploitation had the potential to finish off the hills and caves of Meghalaya. Even then there was no alacrity on the part of the government to right the wrongs.
Khyriem aptly remarks that small-time miners, 90 per cent of whom are illiterate, cannot be solely blamed for environmental degradation. “The Centre, the state and the KHADC never tried to educate the miners or make them aware of the impending dangers. This is because they were earning huge revenues from mining.”
Those in power might have had a premonition of an imminent storm but ignored the signs. The state government woke up after the ban and engaged itself in an unplanned task that yielded absolutely no result and only worsened the situation.
Madal Sumer, a tribal elder and small-time coal miner, says the Tribunal banned only rat-hole mining but the state government “misinterpreted” the order and banned all forms of mining affecting livelihood to a massive extent.
It was only on August 31, 2018, that the NGT imposed total ban on coal mining in Meghalaya. As on April 17, 2014, the ban was interim.
“Moreover, the state government never challenged any of the orders passed by the green tribunal from 2014 till recently. It was only after realising that the matter of Lber Laloo, who wants to resume mining, is reaching its final stage and is about to be decided by the Supreme Court that the state rushed and preferred a civil appeal challenging the last order of the Tribunal. This delay is unnecessary. Four years is not a short time for the government to test the patience of the displaced coal miners. So the state government alone is to be blamed for the ongoing coal mining activities in the state,” says Sumer, who had also filed a petition against appointment of parliamentary secretaries.
Lber Laloo has approached the Supreme Court to allow legal coal mining which will be as per the guidelines to be framed by the government, which will take care of the environment as well. “We are not for illegal coal mining and that is why we have knocked on the door of the Apex Court,” adds Sumer.
Rangad is sceptical that the government, which “abdicated its responsibility post the ban”, might use the same livelihood issue to “push for uranium mining even though many are opposed to it”.
The dilly-dally has only led to resentment among jobless coal miners many of whom are living in penury. The impact on environment was beyond perception.
Then came the election of 2018 and every party tried to reap the best from the imbroglio and eschewed from preparing a road map. Most of the stakeholders whom Sunday Shillong spoke to said that nothing was done to rehabilitate the miners or find alternate livelihood options.
The previous government prepared the Mines and Minerals Policy, 2012. Bindo Lanong, who was in charge of the Mines and Minerals Department when he was holding the deputy chief minister’s office, says the policy was made keeping all stakeholders in the loop.
“It took us two years to prepare the comprehensive policy before the state Cabinet approved it. We took the Forest, Public Works, Laws and definitely Mining departments and PCB and other stakeholders on board. But former chief minister Mukul Sangma did not implement it and instead thrust it under the carpet,” says the senior UDP leader.
Sangma, on the other hand, had said the policy could not be implemented as it was in conflict with the Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 1957 and the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act, 1973. Kharshiing also points out the contradictions.
The Mines and Minerals Policy in the Gazette of Meghalaya dated November 5, 2012, is available in the website. Rule 7.6 under the header Mineral Exploration in the policy in the public domain says, “Small and traditional system of mining by local people in their own land shall not be unnecessarily disturbed.”
In short, the policy did not ban coal mining.The authorities can only disturb when the miner is unnecessarily flouting laws because “one has to go by legal means and with all permissions from authorities concerned”, explains Lanong when asked about the dichotomy in the rule when the intention is to save environment and the future generations.
In the second half of 2015, draft guidelines pertaining to coal mining was submitted to NGT.
“We were asked to make some amendments in the policy which were carried out by the state government but the Centre is still sitting on it for reasons best known to it,” says Advocate Mukherjee, who has been representing the state in the coal mining case.
The policy is likely to be finalised on December 4. The Supreme Court will also hear the case on the same day.
All the stakeholders who could have brought about a change remained sitting ducks all these years and stoking the fire in the coal mines.
Khyriem sees some light at the end of the tunnel. “I am happy that recently one of the MLAs spoke about finding alternate livelihood options, which was never done earlier.”
To have or not to have
Now, the question arises whether mining should be completely banned in Meghalaya as the damage to environment is huge. While some agree to the proposition others look at it more practically.
Rangad while pointing out the irreversible impact of mining on environment — besides the Kopili, the Myntdu and the Lukha rivers are dying as a result of the mining and cement plants and the Borghat river is already dead — says it is possible and essential that exploitative extraction of polluting mineral mining in Meghalaya is reconsidered and a shift to agrarian economy, animal husbandry and regulated tourism is encouraged.
“Mining has not contributed that much to our exchequer as there is so much leakage in its taxation and revenue collection. It has only contributed to large scale ecological damage and exacerbating inequalities. There is not that huge a population indirectly dependent on mining as is being projected. A rehabilitation package for the few is imminently possible. When the timber ban happened in West Khasi Hills a few years ago on account of unregulated large-scale deforestation, the same argument of loss of livelihood was harped on but the ban stayed and it has transformed West Khasi Hills and livelihood has been diversified. A moratorium on mining, including uranium, in Meghalaya is a must,” she says.
Mary Lyngdoh, a concerned citizen, says the land has turned into a “hollow egg shell” thanks to mining and the government should stop it immediately instead of running the business clandestinely.
But Sajay Laloo, green activist, has a different take on it. He says whether the state or the locals mine or not the Centre will because the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act 2018 speaks about ownership of mines by the state or the central government.
“There is no land revenue system in Meghalaya, so coalfields are owned by local tribal people. The effort by the central government to enforce MMRD Act in Sixth Scheduled Areas is nothing but the indirect intention of the central government to extract coal through one way or the other in those areas. Hence, if the local tribal people do not extract coal from the coal mines in Meghalaya, either the state government through MMDC or the Centre through coal block allocation or Coal India Ltd will mine it,” Sumer echoes Laloo’s views.
Both agree that there should be demarcation and restriction for various activities and the need of the hour are policies to protect the environment, rivers and forests.
“The state government has promoted cement industries in the middle of thick forests, especially in East Jaintia Hills. So if the state by itself does not care for the environment, we cannot blame general people,” points out Sumer.
Bhattacharjee points out that pollution does not have any geographical and political boundaries and “while mining was stopped in Meghalaya because of the river pollution the other side, that is Assam, continued to mine coal”.
So there is hope that if Meghalaya miners follow rules and the government sincerely punishes flouters, even the state can enjoy mining money after some time.
But activist Rangad rejects such idea saying the tussle is not between mechanised and rat-hole mining. “Both will cause environmental degradation. Nothing scientific can really help cure the devastation left behind by mining and fully restore the land.”
Restoration & rehabilitation
Khyriem says the forum he heads frequently invites experts from various departments to educate disgruntled coal miners about the need for preserving the ecology.
Tynsong assures that the government deputes Forest Department officials to conduct awareness programmes for miners.
The damage to the environment needs immediate attention and authorities have to work on war footing to check further destruction.
SPCB’s Marak says how restoration will be done can be said only after the Supreme Court verdict. But it has to be site-specific and chemical treatment of polluted rivers and physical, engineering and biological interventions will be required, he explains.
“Till then we will continue to monitor,” he adds.
In 2015, the state government created an Environmental Restoration Fund worth over Rs 400 crore as per the NGT order. However, Khyriem says the fund is still lying with the government and no amount has been disbursed to start environment restoration process. “We filed an RTI recently to ensure that this money is not siphoned off to other purposes,” he adds.
About rehabilitation, the government is yet to decide on packages. Rangad suggests reinvestment in agriculture, animal husbandry and tourism. “Plugging revenue loopholes attached to mining through use of technology like trackers and digitised weighbridges, collecting large cess for mining to disincentivise will help in the long run.”
But mining has to co-exist with environment as income from tourism is minimal, according to Khyriem.
Kharshiing, who pitches for a multi-pronged approach to the imbroglio, has another alternative. He says the state government should explore the potential of coal bed methane from which it can earn crores of revenues.
“I can’t say just ban mining because there are so many people dependent on it. However, the first thing is awareness and the government has to take this up… It is a gigantic task,” he observes.
Sumer says besides the absence of social security programmes, the government recently discontinued health cards. So where do small-time miners go considering the rising prices of essential goods and dearth of good government schools?
“The only alternative is for the government to take up the coal mining case religiously and ensure the ban is lifted at the earliest,” he adds.
It is time that the ministers and bureaucrats pull up their socks and prepare an action plan. And instead of stopping there, they should implement it in real terms. The ordinary people who are already suffering should not be entangled in bureaucratic red tape in order to avail of government schemes because this will only add more fuel to the coal fire.
“Till the time the government is serious about turning the tables and has enough to impress general public in mutating their mindset and way of thinking, people will always opt for a go-easy life and depend on mining for their livelihood,” Sumer sounds the alarm.