Congress member, residents demand cancellation of coal auction order

TURA: Member of the Congress and former MCS Officer, S R Marak along with several residents from East Garo Hills has sought the cancellation of the Coal Auction notice in the district alleging various anomalies in the order issued recently.

In his complaint filed with other residents to the Deputy Commissioner, Marak questioned the order alleging that the permission given for the auctioning of the coal amount exceeded that of the amount actually present in the district. Marak also claimed that the time given for tendering auction was during the festive season of Christmas and New Year with only 5 working days.

According to Marak, there were also reports about royalty challans (MTCs) issued against auctioned coal at Nengkhra being used to transport coal from other parts of the state like Khasi Hills towards Assam or to export to Bangladesh.

In view of all these, Marak urged the deputy commissioner to cancel the current order or to arrange for joint verification of the quantity of coal along with the police department, Mining Department and prominent local organizations within 7 days.