NDA govts in Assam, Meghalaya behind drug abuse, illegal coal mining: Gogoi

NEW DELHI, May 28: Newly-appointed Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, on Wednesday, came down heavily on the BJP-led NDA governments in Meghalaya and Assam over rampant illegal coal mining and drug trafficking through state-protected syndicates and demanded a CBI inquiry into the two serious issues.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Gogoi said an Enforcement Directorate investigation revealed that a syndicate with people from Meghalaya and Assam is in charge of ensuring that the trucks containing illegal coal clear the borders of Meghalaya and enter Assam. The syndicate connected to people in power helps these trucks move easily with doctored documents.
Gogoi said this syndicate charges Rs 1.27-1.5 lakh in cash per truck from the mine owners in the name of commission and patronage. The illegally mined coal is stored at depots in Jogighopha, Assam.
He said smuggling of drugs increased manifold in Meghalaya and Mizoram ever since the ethnic conflict started in Manipur in May 2023.
Quoting Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh, he said Meghalaya has about 3 lakh drug addicts, which is about 10% of the state’s total population. “This indicates an alarming rise in drug abuse,” he added.
“Without political protection from the state and the Centre, this would not have been possible and therefore, we demand a CBI inquiry,” Gogoi said.
He also raised concern over the unstable situation in the two countries—Myanmar and Bangladesh—sharing vast tracts of the border with the Northeast.
“The most frightening aspect of this statistics is that the majority of the drug users are between the age of 15 and 29 years, and the prevalence rate among the youth is 30%,” Gogoi said.
He said that in recent years, 42.75 kg of heroin, and 30,000 kg of ganja and opium along with cash and arms have been seized in Meghalaya, which shows the gravity of the problem.
Gogoi also cited Mizoram’s Excise and Narcotics Minister Lalnghinglova Hmar’s concern over the increase in the increase in drug smuggling into the state. “The drugs problem, which is devastating the socio-economic life of the people of the entire Northeastern region, is quite alarming given the worsening situation in Manipur and Myanmar,” he said.
Gogoi said the ED report on illegal coal has revealed that the mine owners and the syndicate people coordinate with their counterparts in Margherita in Assam’s Tinsukia district to make it appear to be mined from legally sourced mines. During the ED search, Rs 1.58 crore in cash, laptops, mobile phones, and two high-end vehicles suspected to be purchased out of the proceeds of crime, were seized.
Rat-hole coal mining in Meghalaya was banned in April 2014, but mining activities continue. He alleged that the state government has not taken any action because some politically important are involved.
“The same is the case with the pumping of drugs into the region, with tacit support of the NDA governments,” Gogoi said.
Referring to the recent Rising North-East Summit in Delhi, Gogoi stated that the scenario painted there is far from the ground realities, which he felt was crucial.
He claimed that the NE region has developed into a centre for illicit coal mining and drug trafficking under BJP control.
“This exposed the lies of the Assam CM, who has always said there was no illegal coal mining,” Gogoi added, adding that the Congress had initially supported the probes.
“However, we started to doubt the ED as well when no arrests were made, no SIT was established, and no additional investigation was conducted,” he added.