SHILLONG: The NGT panel headed by retired judge, BP Katakey, has decided to recommend payment of additional compensation to the families of the 16 victims of the Ksan mine tragedy, of two miners who died subsequently in another mishap and of the 18 miners in Garo Hills earlier.
Speaking to media persons after its meeting here on Friday, Katakey said that the committee has decided to recommend some additional amount apart from what has been released to the families.
“We will make the recommendation in our report to NGT this month and it is likely to be considered on December 6,” he said.
So far, the families of Ksan mine victims have been paid a compensation of Rs one lakh each by the state government and Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
As for the 2012 mine accident in Garo Hills in which 18 miners died, he said that an amount of Rs 1 lakh was sanctioned by the state government but it has not been disbursed as the deputy commissioner of the district was finding it difficult to locate the families of the victims as most of them hail from the neighbouring districts of Assam.
“We have asked the government to verify, find the families and pay them the amount,” he said.
As for the draft mining plan and policy for auctioning of the coal by the state government, he said that the panel will consider it on November 21 and may make some suggestions which would have to be incorporated.
It may be mentioned that auctioning of the coal will begin only after the draft mining plan is approved by the competent authority.
Earlier, the NGT committee had asked the state government to probe the issue of large quantities of coal going to Bangladesh beyond what is prescribed in the challans.
The particular case relates to coal exported to Bangladesh through Gasuapara.
Reacting to a query on the matter, Katakey said that the Customs officials present in Friday’s meeting said that under their guidelines, they are not required to verify whether trucks carrying coal have necessary permits or not from the Meghalaya government.
“I find this astounding and it is not acceptable as coal mining was stopped by NGT in 2014 and they are duty-bound to check everything,” he said. In addition, the committee was also told by the state government that they are inquiring into the matter and it will be briefed on November 21.
The panel on Friday also discussed reports of illegal transportation of coal in the state but the state government denied the allegations.
However, Katakey said that he will give his recommendations in his report to the NGT even as he informed that in his previous four reports, he has mentioned that illegal coal transportation is going on in the state.
