Rajnath to discuss M’laya mining with ministries

SHILLONG: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will soon call a joint meeting with all the line ministries related to coal to take a call on how to recommend to the President for exemption of Meghalaya from the Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation Act.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said on Friday the MDA government has been pursuing the resolution passed by the then state government requesting the Centre to exempt Meghalaya from the central mining acts.
Tynsong assured that the process to lift the NGT ban on coal mining “is on track” and the Home Ministry will hold a meeting with the ministries of coal and environment, besides others, to decide on the exemption from two acts by issuing a presidential notification under Paragraphs 12(a) and (b) of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
“The state government has committed that exemption from MMDR Act would not mean destruction of environment or flouting of safety regulation but the state government will follow all the regulations,” he added.
Talking about the delay in solving the issue and the setbacks, Tynsong said former chief minister Mukul Sangma had made the proposal to allow Meghalaya Mineral Development Corporation to mine coal without consulting Cabinet ministers and the move disappointed many.
“It was the first bottleneck in solving the issue”, Tynsong said.
He said the MDA government had to take back the proposal and start from scratch and its efforts put work on track and all the ministries concerned have been given details of the land tenure system in Meghalaya.