31 coke plants shut in EJH

SHILLONG, Sep 27: The East Jaintia Hills district administration has shut down 31 illegal coke factories that were established without any documents from concerned authority.
Secretary of the Environment Coordination Committee (ECC) of Elaka Sutnga, Pynbait Sutnga on Monday revealed that the 31 coke plants had only obtained the clearance from the Single Window Agency (SWA) and neither had the Consent To Establish (CTE) or the Consent To Operate (CTO).
Sutnga said that they will continue to follow up with Deputy Commissioner, Ethelbert Kharmalki on the status of the remaining 13 coke plants which had obtained CTEs and CTOs from the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB).
Meanwhile, ECC legal adviser, Reading War said that the police on Saturday seized and locked an under-construction coke plant in the district.
An official source revealed that the deputy commissioner had written to the state government to examine the demand of the ECC to close down all the coke plants.
The district administration is facing difficulties in acting against the remaining 13 coke units since they had already obtained either the CTE or CTO from MSPCB, the source added.