By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 1: NPP state president and Rajya Sabha member, WR Kharlukhi on Friday said the Centre could have handled the ban on coal mining much better by providing compensation to the people who have depended solely on it for their livelihood for decades.
“The central government should have provided some compensation to the people. They just stopped it (coal mining) suddenly just because we are far away in the Northeast,” he said.
Kharlukhi said coal has been the only source of livelihood for the people of Jaintia Hills and banning mining has denied them their fundamental right to earning and food.
“For 40 years, they have been doing this. You did not realise when my people were poor but when they became rich their activity became illegal,” he said.
On instances of illegal rat-hole mining continuing even after the ban, he said, “The boys undertake the risk because they have to feed their families.”
Kharlukhi said coal mining powered the economy of the state involving all sections of society and not just made a few people rich.
“They imposed a blanket ban because it is Meghalaya. The same applies to the national capital (Delhi) where air pollution causes death,” he said, adding that he tried to raise the issue in Parliament twice in vain.
Referring to the calls for scientific money, Kharlukhi said what matters most is that the mining should continue for the people to survive.
“It really hurts to see what has happened to Meghalaya because of the coal mining ban,” he said.
