By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 9: Justice (retd) BP Katakey, appointed as the head of a one-man inquiry committee set up to recommend to the state government the measures on coal-related issues, is scheduled to submit another report before the High Court of Meghalaya later this month.
The measures to be recommended will be in keeping with the directions of the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal (NGT) on illegal coal mining and transportation.
Officials said Justice Katakey has so far held three meetings with different departments and agencies in Shillong and has submitted a preliminary report to the high court.
It is learnt that he will submit the second report to the high court after another round of discussions with the state departments and agencies concerned on June 15 in Shillong.
The high court had appointed Justice Katakey, a former judge of the Gauhati High Court, on April 19 to ascertain whether the state government has complied with the directives of the SC and the NGT for cracking down on illegal coal mining.
Hearing a suo motu case on illegal mining in the state, the full bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee, Justice W Diengdoh and Justice H Thangkhiew had said Justice Katakey agreed to look into several aspects of the matter, particularly the extent of compliance with the directives of the SC and NGT.
According to the court, Justice Katakey will also recommend the measures to be immediately taken to comply with the outstanding directions, including the sale of coal now available under the aegis of Coal India Limited.
The court had asked Justice Katakey to file a preliminary report on the compliance of the orders of the SC and the NGT and what more needs to be done within four weeks of the order.
As far as coke factories are concerned, the officials said there are several coke plants mostly without CTEs and CTOs and the government has told Justice Katakey that one plant is operating.
It is learnt that Justice Katakey had recently asked the government to stop the coke plants that are operating without necessary clearances. The authorities have said they have written to the district administration concerned.
On Tuesday, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma negated the allegations that illegal coke factories continue to operate in the state.
“The coke plants that were operating illegally have been shut down and only the ones with documents and clearances are being allowed to function,” he had asserted.
