By Raka Matchisal A. Sangma
What is the first thing that comes to mind when we hear the word “COAL” or “KOYALA?” Does the word give a positive vibe or a negative one? The connotation varies, of course, with your stand on the popular debate, on whether coal is good or bad. I shall leave that for your free will to ponder upon and decide.
India is a resource hungry developing nation and any sudden jolt to its supply of resources can severely harm its developmental goals. The nation recently breathed a sigh of relief when the US gave it a temporary waiver of six months from CAATSA, as sanctions on Tehran takes effect.
Now the question is, (with all the hullabaloo about illegal mining in Meghalaya going viral) do the coal capitalists minting money from the Abode of Clouds deserve a waiver, or a slap on their businesses with sanctions apart from the NGT ban? Although the matter is already knee-deep in controversies, with the opposition taking swings at the incumbent at every chance it gets, for this particular discussion let us stay aloof from political interpretations and look at it from a layman’s point of view. Let us try to demystify the ‘whataboutaries’ of this hydrocarbon which rendered SRK speech impaired in Bollywood’s Koyla movie.
Did someone say Coal Mafias? I beg to differ.
So are you telling me that they conduct their shady business with ‘The Godfather’ soundtrack playing in the background? It sounds rather preposterous! Do you require high-tech devices or a mastermind detective to smoke them out of their holes? Of course not! Coal is not being transported virtually, or by air, or ferried via water, or by any phantom medium. Here’s a revelation. The black gold is being transported by road and even school children can point them out. There is no need for Sherlock Holmes, Hercules Poirot, or Nancy Drew to solve the coal mess in the state. It’s safe to assume that the state police are caught up in a Scooby Doo mystery case. You all know how every mystery unveils in that cartoon. Unmask the monsters, and you’ll find ordinary people.
How about we call them “Disasters” instead? (Sarcasm intended)
Since the medical expenses for Agnes Kharshiing and her associate Amita Sangma who were attacked by the supposed mafias were covered by the Disaster Management Corpus Fund, we might as well brand the perpetrators as a “Disaster.” Let us add more substance to it.
The Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT), which is an International Disasters Database by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), has laid down certain criteria, of which at least one needs to be fulfilled, for an event to be entered as a disaster in the database:
- a)Ten (10) or more people reported killed
- b)Hundred (100) or more people reported affected
- c)Declaration of a state of emergency
- d)Call for international assistance
Do the activities of the supposed mafias meet any or at least one of the above criteria? If so, then the “Coal Mafias” need to be rechristened as a “Disaster,” and for them and for their activities, the state needs to come up with a comprehensive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategy. To mitigate, to be prepared for, to respond and to recover from the impacts.
The Savanna Principle
“The Savanna Principle is a term in Psychology, coined by Satoshi Kanazawa for the principle that human behaviour remaining to some extent adapted to the ancestral environment of early Homo in the savanna may lead to problems in a modern (Industrial or post-Industrial) environment.” Now the entire reluctance of certain individuals or groups to abandon traditional rat-hole mining and shift to a more scientific, sustainable and safe mining practices can be observed under this principle. The NGT’s “interim ban” should be acknowledged as temporary until a new mining policy materialises. Also, let us not be biased. The same principle applies to both the polar opposites. The ones who are against the ban and the ones who are blindly supporting it.
The Great Odyssey
Notwithstanding all the bad press, scandals and controversies surrounding coal, the promises of this hydrocarbon and its potential to take the state’s developmental agenda forward cannot be pigeon-holed. Meghalaya cannot make colossal investments to bring futuristic clean technology in its current state, but a transparent, more efficient and sustainable use of coal and all its other blessed resources can give it the leverage it needs to be a self sustaining state. Also the shift from the Congress’s Look East Policy to the BJP’s Act East Policy, should inspire Meghalaya not only to look beyond its periphery, but take advantage of its strategic location and start initiating its very own Act South Policy. Let this be the Great Odyssey of our state and make a paradigm shift from the savanna, to not just have a smart capital city, but a smart state as a whole.
Moving Forward: Coal Divestment
The contents of this article may seem to be soft or diplomatic, but it is done so as to bridge the gap in the society, that has been so polarised by the debate on coal. One cannot deny that the fossil fuel resources have helped achieve wonders, but at the same time, a transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy needs to be prioritised. In the words of Durwood Zaelke, the president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, “In the climate emergency we’re now in, SLOW SUCCESS IS NO SUCCESS.” This demands for a move towards a low carbon economy. This calls for a steady coal divestment.
The climate of suspicion, seeded by the coal wave needs to be addressed by the people of conscience. A surgical strike on the “coal mafias” or “Disaster Lobbyists” or whatever you want to call these plunderers needs to be carried out. If the atrocities committed by the resource looters, the global climate emergency, the humanitarian crisis of the “rat-hole minors,” seem too complicated to comprehend, we need not look forward, but to history. Lest we forget, let us be reminded that Meghalaya is located in Seismic Zone-V, which covers the areas with the highest risks. There is a lot to learn from the tragedy of the devastating 1897 Shillong earthquake.The major earthquake had a magnitude of 8.7 on the Richter Scale. It is said that the tremors were 50 times powerful than the ones that hit San Francisco on the 17th of October, 1989. The violent earthquake happened on the 12th of June at around 5:11pm and lasted for around 3 minutes. Meghalaya was still a part of Assam and the final death toll was estimated around 1,542 people, including those 600 people who lost their lives due to a landslide in Cherrapunjee. Now imagine an earthquake of similar magnitude, keeping in mind the population and infrastructure that has beefed up since 1897, as well as the mining activities that have further weakened the geography of the state. The consequences will be unfathomable. For it is not a question of “if” (the earthquake hits), but “when.”
(The writer is Alumnus of Jamsetji Tata School of Disaster Studies, TISS, Mumbai and an environmental conservation enthusiast who is deeply worried over the present reality of socio-environmental mess in which Meghalaya is in.)