By HH Mohrmen
The cal mining lobbyist’s hope that coal trade in the state will resume immediately is not going to be a reality; not very soon as the state government has not been able to fulfil its mandate. This was brought to light when one member of the committee constituted by the NGT to work with the state government in formulating a policy for scientific mining of coal, resigned from his position. It may be mentioned that the NGT banned coal mining in the state because rat hole mining is considered unsustainable and illegal. State government’s lackadaisical attitude towards the issue is obvious from the fact that although many months had lapsed, the state is yet to come up with the document to start scientific mining in the state. It may be mentioned that mining of coal in the state was stopped by the NGT which imposed a ban on the rat hole mining since 2014.
Till today, the government has not been able to frame the necessary plan for mechanised mining of coal in the state that will also be in line with the MMDR Act, environment laws, labour laws and safety of the miners as envisaged in the honourable Supreme Court’s ruling last July. Unfortunately the government has not only failed in its mandate to come up with the mining plan, but it is yet to come to any agreement with Coal India Ltd with regards to auction of coal again as mandated by the court ruling.
However in spite of the court ruling, transportation of coal is going on as reported in sections of the press that more than sixty trucks have even tried to export coal through Tamabil land port using fake challans. If sixty trucks tried to illegally export coal to Bangladesh then one can imagine the numbers of trucks transporting coal to Guwahati. It will be five times that numbers! The question is, how is it possible to even transport coal, with all the police outposts and police stations we have in the entire stretch of the highway? How can the CM still talk about revenue leakage when trucks either transport coal illegally or with fake challans to Guwahati and Dawki? Is there any revenue leakage bigger than this?
That the government is not serious in its claim of protecting the environment is also obvious from the stand that the State Forest Department made with regards to the public hearing for issuing mining lease to Star Cement at a place called Brichyrnot. From the certificate issued by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and HoFF, Meghalaya Shillong vides Memo No. MFG.16/50/SCML/15123-124 dated Shillong the October 11, 2019, it is obvious that the Government is giving a green signal for issuing of mining leases to the said company on a 42.6 hectares of land /42.051 of which is owned by the company by declaring that it is a ‘non-forest’ area. It is not forest land because forest was systematically cleared before the inspection was done and this was not taken into account by the Forest Department. Comparing the past satellite images of the area with the present will help the forest department come up with the truth about the proposed mining site.
The certificate issued by the PCCF was based on the fact that this was stated vide the same department’s letter Memo No. MFG.16/50/CMCL/Vol-III/7849-855 dated August 29, 2018. It was stated that the proposed mining area is located at distance of 1.46 Km away from Narpuh Wildlife Sanctuary and 0.25 Km from the eco-sensitive zone which was verified by the DFO Jaintia Hills Territorial Division and the Assistant Conservator of Forest, Jaintia Hills Division, Jowai. What the PCCF tried to point out through this certificate is that according to the rules, the mining area is within the limit and it is still about 20 metres away from the limit set by the law. So why is it that the verification has to be done by the DFO Jaintia Hills Territorial Division and the Assistant Conservator of Forest, Jaintia Hills Division, Jowai, when the sanctuary is under the lookout of the Wildlife Division of the Department?
The Wildlife Division of the district had worked very hard to get the Narpuh reserved forest upgraded from a mere reserve forest to a wildlife sanctuary, but in one fell swoop the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and HoFF, Meghalaya Shillong by issuing the certificate on behalf of the Company, is indirectly giving it the license to plunder the natural heritage very close to the sanctuary. It is also true that the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board is under the purview of the Forest Department so, had it not been for the public protest, with the certificate issued by PCCF the Company would have received the mining lease without any problems.
In this regard it looks like the State Forest Department is throwing out the baby with the bath water, but fortunately the complaints against the mining area is not only about the Narpuh Wildlife Sanctuary. One of the complaints is also that Brichyrnot is one of the catchment areas of the river Lukha, therefore allowing mining in the area will have drastic impacts on the water body, the fishes and aquatic lives in the river. The Jaintia Fishing and Environment Protections Association also stated that silting is already happening in the river Lukha from limestone mining. It is true that Lukha is not only affected by coal mining but cement plants upstream of the river have also had a devastating impact on the river.
Sulphuric content in the water of the river is known to the public but the fine mud which covers the river bed was not mentioned by the State Pollution Control Board in its report. How come there is mud in the river bed? Is the mud made of silting from the limestone mining or is it fly ash from the cement plants? This has to be ascertained by the Board. And it was reported earlier that this has not only affected the nearby villages but it will affect the villages which are located downstream of the river as Lukha not only provides them fish for their sustenance but it also provides for their basic needs. In fact Lukha also flows through Bangladesh to the Bay of Bengal.
Lumchnong is also blessed with one of the longest caves in India, but unfortunately the cave has been severely damaged by limestone mining in the area. Limestone mining has damaged the famous Krem Kotsati Umlawan of Lumchnong, and the cave system which is also exotic in nature is not even safe to enter now. Limestone mining which uses heavy machineries and explosives rendered it unsafe to even enter the cave now. Krem Kot-sati Umlawan which was the second longest cave (21, 530 metres long) and the third deepest cave (215 metres deep) in India is not the same cave that it was when it was first surveyed and mapped by the Meghalaya Adventurers Association. With the kind of mining using heavy machines and explosives which also did not take into consideration the fragile caves underneath, it could also be true that Krem kotsati Umlawan is no longer one of the longest in the country.
Much has been destroyed and so much more is in the anvil, It is mind boggling to think of what is going to happen in the area when one knows the facts that much of Narpuh is now owned by the cement companies. And the fact that there are already eight cement plants in the area is something that the government and the people of the state should ponder deep and hard. What kind of future is in store for the people in the area? What kind of air are they breathing when during winters one can see suspended dust particles covering their rooftops and even plants changing colours.
The MUA and especially Conrad Sangma have work to do than merely making politically correct statements about the environment and sustainable issues. It is easy to say that one is working for sustainable development, but it sad to know when what is happening on the ground is the opposite of what has been said. It is high time that Conrad walks the talk and ensures that the Government really and seriously works to protect the environment.