SHILLONG, May 15: The full bench of the High Court of Meghalaya has directed Chief Secretary, DP Wahlang and Director-General of Police, LR Bishnoi to file personal affidavits responding to the facts and observations indicated in the 13th interim report filed by Justice (retd) Brojendra Prasad Katakey.
Noting that the matter pertaining to the transportation of illegally mined coal has been brought to the notice of the highest officials of the state, including the police and the civil administration, the court said the affidavits have to indicate why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against both the chief secretary and the DGP for their apparent inaction and failure in checking the illegal coal mining operations and transportation in the state.
“Such officials may do well to refer to the original orders passed by the National Green Tribunal and the orders passed by the Supreme Court endorsing the prohibition of illegal mining. This is most important since the state now plans to open scientific mining,” the court said.
The court added that it would be completely unreasonable and arbitrary for a group of persons to be required to undertake mining in a regulated, scientific manner upon paying the due license fees and royalty thereof while others are permitted to continue illegal mining without obtaining any permission or paying any revenue to the state for such purpose.
Appearing for the union, Nitesh Mozika submitted that no instructions have been issued on the availability of Central police personnel for stopping the illegal transportation of illegally mined coal in the state.
According to the court, it is evident from the 13th interim report that a field visit was conducted by Justice Katakey on May 10, 2023, to obtain first-hand information on coke oven plants and ferroalloy plants in the West Khasi Hills district.
The field visit was conducted in the Shallang and Kyllonmathei areas of the district. It was discovered during the visit that a number of coke oven plants have been set up without obtaining consent to establish or consent to operate or both from the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board.
The court said that the observations in the report indicate the presence of innumerable dumps having huge quantities of coal around the Shallang and Kyllonmathei areas.
“Indeed, two small coal dumps are noticed outside the boundary wall of Shallang Police Station. By the side of National Highway 127B and within two kilometres of Shallang Police Station, coal dumps are noticed which are covered by polythene sheets,” the court said.
According to the report, two trucks laden with coal, one bearing registration number ML05-K-0917 and the other without registration plates, were found. The report said that in the two months preceding the field visit, there were no coal dumps other than the coal in depot No. 9, which was a designated depot and the huge quantity of coal found all over the place “are illegally mined and transported coal”.
There was a further observation that no action either by the civil administration or the police or by any officer authorised under the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, was taken for illegal storage and transportation of such a huge quantity of coal and that not a single case has been registered, and not even a complaint filed so far.
According to Justice Katakey, no attempt was made either by the police or by the civil administration to ascertain the owners of the coal, the landowners on whose land the coal has been dumped, and the persons who transported such coal. Neither was action taken against the operators of the two coal-laden trucks nor was any case registered at Shallang Police Station.
The report suspected that there was a strong possibility of transportation of illegally mined coal in the Kyllonmathei area to unauthorised coke oven plants operating around these areas.
