The coal mine tragedy where six miners fell into an abandoned mine allegedly owned by a relative of a cabinet minister has again exposed the poor working conditions of miners who work in these unsafe conditions and put their lives in danger because of the desperation to earn a livelihood. That the accident happened on Meghalaya Day is itself an ominous portend. Earlier the Ksan mining accident in December 2018 where 15 miners were buried alive in the coal mine owned and illegally operated by one Jrin Chullet alis Krip Chullet had revealed the venality of the entire operation. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned coal mining since 2014 after a mining tragedy in Garo Hills but mining and transportation of coal continued under the watch of the Government. Chullet was arrested but later released on bail and since no one is following up the case, it will end up as another of the hundreds and thousands of unsolved cases of the Meghalaya Police since the state was born.
In July 2019, the Supreme Court had lifted the ban on coal mining imposed by the NGT which had asked the State Government to come up with a concrete mining plan which would include environmental restoration measures and also address labour rights and laws. That has not happened till date. The Supreme Court order came with some riders which the State Government has not complied with. Hence mining is carrying on illegally and also transported illegally with the state acting as facilitator.
The Supreme Court ruling was very clear that mine owners in Meghalaya would be expected to follow the national rules on resource extraction. This means they have to apply for mining lease from the State Government which will in turn have to get environmental clearances from the Union Ministry of Environment. In fact the coal mine owners were not happy with the apex court ruling as it was seen as an imposition of central mining laws on tribal land in a Sixth Schedule area. Mine owners were unhappy that applying for a mining lease and submitting a mining plan would eat into their profits and the process would also be delayed because of the red tape involved. Most of the mine owners thought that since the apex court had acknowledged the tribal rights of mine owners it would allow them to go back to their previous practice of rat hole mining. But the apex court also ruled that coal extracted should be auctioned to Coal India Limited and not be exported to Bangladesh as was done in the past by the mine owners themselves.
These strict conditions laid down by the Supreme Court are openly violated and illegal mining and transportation of coal continues in complete contempt of court orders.