By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 23: The one-man commission of Justice (retired) BP Katakey, appointed by the High Court of Meghalaya, has finalised the standard operating procedure for transportation of coal both from within the state and that brought from outside Meghalaya to counter the illegal transportation of locally mined coal disguised as coal sourced from outside the state.
“Key points of the SOP includes use of colour code, checking of all documents at entry points, and fitting of GPS devices on trucks carrying coal at the designated entry point,” Chairman of State Expert Appraisal Authority on Environment, Naba Bhattacharjee said on Friday.
“Every check gate they pass should put their stamp on the documents and if they change the truck within Meghalaya they will have to inform the deputy commissioner and in case of a breakdown they have to inform the nearest police station or dial 112,” Bhattacharjee, who assisted Justice Katakey in preparation of the SOP, said.
Bhattacharjee who is also heading the committee for auction of coal, said, “The transportation of around 14 lakh MT of coal has been completed but some more is to be auctioned and it will be done in September.”
Stating that some money from the earlier auctions had not been not deposited he said these will be included along with the money generated from the auction in September. He also said that the security deposit for the bidders who had participated in the previous rounds of auction will be forfeited.
“Time will be given to them to deposit the auction money and if they don’t, their security deposit will be forfeited and the coal will be put up for auction,” he added.