State govt moves NITI Aayog for mining exemption

SHILLONG: The state government on Monday stressed on seeking exemption from central mining laws to carry out coal mining activities in Meghalaya during a meeting with NITI Aayog in New Delhi.
An official of the state Mining and Geology department, who attended the meeting, said the views of the state government were presented before the officials of NITI Aayog.
“We hope that the NITI Aayog will take up the matter with the Centre”, the official added.
Earlier, the stand of the government before the concerned union ministries was that the state should be made the sole authority to clear mining plans instead of depending on the Centre as this will lead to delay.
The state government has already filed a special leave petition before the Supreme Court challenging the ban on coal mining by the NGT.
The order is expected to be pronounced by the Supreme Court in July.