SHILLONG, Sep 15: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday told the Assembly that the state government is leaving no stone unturned to stop the illegal mining and transportation of coal.
Replying to a call attention motion moved by Mawlai legislator PT Sawkmie on the fifth day of the autumn session, Sangma claimed all possible steps were being taken to discourage the illegal activities. “The district administration (concerned) is taking punitive penal actions. Whenever such cases are detected, various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957 are used against the violators,” he said.
Referring to Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui’s statement on Wednesday, Sangma said 1,652 cases were registered for illegal transportation of coal till August 31. Charge sheets were filed in 1,354 cases while 472 people were convicted, he added.
Similarly, 199 cases have been registered for illegal mining and extraction of coal with 108 people charge-sheeted and 23 convicted.
Stating that the issue of illegal mining is a very serious issue, Sangma said the government is very concerned about it. “However, I cannot comment on the issue of illegal mining in the state right now as it is pending before the High Court of Meghalaya,” he said.
Earlier, Sawkmie urged the state government to address the problem of illegal coal mining once and for all. He reminded the CM of the pledge of the MDA constituents to take the issue of coal to its logical end soon after being elected in 2018.
“We were hopeful that the problem of coal mining would be settled once and for all in these five years. The issue remains unresolved,” the Congress MLA rued.
He said the stakeholders expected legal coal mining to resume in the state, especially in the interest of the people dependent on mining activities for their livelihoods. “This is yet to materialise,” he lamented.
Sawkmie said media reports on illegal mining and transportation of coal from time to time are a matter of great concern. He said an impression has been created in Delhi that there is no coal business in Meghalaya, but people keep seeing coal-laden trucks illegally plying on the roads every day.
He mentioned the December 2018 Ksan mine tragedy in which 16 labourers died, adding many miners died in similar tragic incidents reported from across the state. “Not to forget the Krem Ule incident in the early part of this year where six miners died,” he added.
