SHILLONG: In a Landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Wednesday paved the way for operationalizing coal mines in the State of Meghalaya under the relevant statutory framework of the MMDR Act, 1957.
The present State government in Meghalaya for the first time since the imposition of the mining ban imposed by the NGT in 2014, preferred two civil appeals before the Supreme Court. Till the preferring of the civil appeals by the present State government no steps had been taken by the previous government for removal of the ban imposed by the NGT, according to a communique issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) here.
The State government argued for the protection of the rights of the indigenous tribes of Meghalaya, and it was specifically contended that the tribes have the right over the land, and also possess proprietary rights over the extracted mineral. The said contention of the State government has been categorically and emphatically upheld by the Supreme Court.
It is a first in the recent history of the State of Meghalaya that the top court of the country has acknowledged the unique position of tribes in the State and has acknowledged and affirmed the rights of tribes over the lands and minerals there under for which consistent efforts have been made by the present government which argued the case on behalf of the Tribal population of the State and all other stake-holders.
The apex court has further held that it is the tribes who are the lawful owners of the extracted coal. As a one-time measure, the Supreme Court has directed Coal India Ltd. to auction off all the coal which is already extracted, and the proceeds of the auction shall be remitted to the State government which in turn shall remit the same to the lawful owners of the coal, i.e. the Tribal miners.
In the above circumstances, the Supreme Court has uplifted the ban on coal mining subject to compliance with the provisions of the MMDR Act, 1957 and the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960. The mining in Tribal lands shall be permitted subject to requisite permissions from the owner of the tribal land, and with approved mining plan. Therefore, the State can look towards the future by initiating scientific mining practices under the regulatory framework. There is no longer a regulatory void with the coming of the judgement of the Court and the mining activities can be restarted as per terms of the guidelines of the Court.
The Supreme Court further accepted the contention of the State government that a penalty of Rs 100 Crores as imposed by the NGT would cause hardship to the small State of Meghalaya. The SC has, therefore, directed that the amount of Rs 100 Crores be paid from the MEPRF Fund which was created for collecting fines/penalties from persons who were engaged in illegal mining. Therefore, the burden of the fine has not been imposed on the State government but rather on the illegal miners and transporters of illegally mined coal, who the State government has continuously penalized for violations.
The Supreme Court has passed as many as 15 directions, thereby giving a green-light to mining operations in the State, subject to strict compliance of the regulatory frame-work. No fault has been found with the State government, and the judgement is likely to pave the way for the future and is a massive victory in the state government’s efforts to bolster and protect the rights of its Tribal citizens and also of all stake-holders who were suffering on account of the ban on coal mining. The State government has been directed to continue to take action against illegal miners under relevant provision of MMDR Act.