TURA: East Garo Hills district administration has sealed over 10 illegal rat-hole coal mines in the Rongrenggre reserve forest on the outskirts of Williamnagar town in the past two days.
The move comes after the state government received the National Green Tribunal’s reprimand for illegal mining.
Special teams of the district administration accompanied by police personnel searched the vast reserve forest and found close to a dozen rat-hole mines inside.
At the same time, a crackdown on trucks transporting coal without valid documents and in violation of the recent Supreme Court ban has begun in Garo Hills.
“We have seized a fully loaded coal truck from Nengkra area on National Highway 62 that did not have any transport challans,” said Deputy Commissioner Swapnil Thembe.
He revealed that special joint operation teams have been formed in the district to check illegal coal mining and transportation.
Illegal coal extraction from the reserve has been taking place for well over two years with several seizures but it had failed to stop it until the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal stepped in.
