Fresh case of missing coal reported from two villages in SWKH
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Nov 3: History repeats itself. This famous aphorism rings eerily true in Meghalaya as yet another case of missing coal has been detected, mirroring a similar case dating back to July. This time the stage has changed, and the quantum is different, but the underlying dynamics of illegalities surrounding coal remain hauntingly familiar.
In July, over 4,000 metric tonnes (MT) of illegally mined coal disappeared from two villages in West Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi, while this time more than 900 MT of assessed coal has gone missing from two villages in South West Khasi Hills.
This latest disclosure was made in the 33rd interim report on illegal coal mining and transportation compiled by Justice (retired) B.P. Katakey and submitted to the High Court of Meghalaya recently.
The report mentioned that, pursuant to an order passed by the high court, the Deputy Commissioner of the South West Khasi Hills district constituted a committee of three officers — the Additional District Magistrate and two Executive Magistrates — to inquire into the missing coal in Rajaju and Diengngan villages in South West Khasi Hills.
The 33rd interim report said that the three-member committee submitted its report in September, from where it appeared that 920.73 MT of illegally mined coal in these two villages, as detected by the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) during an aerial survey conducted by it, was missing.
The quantity detected by MBDA during the aerial survey (in MT) in Rajaju was 2,121.62 MT, but the volume found available by the three-member committee was 1,534.28 MT.
Similarly, the quantity detected by MBDA during the aerial survey in Diengngan was 1,839.03 MT, but the volume found available by the three-member committee was 1,505.64 MT.
The Deputy Commissioner of the South West Khasi Hills district was advised to lodge an FIR against the missing coal, and the committee was accordingly informed about the complaint.
The South West Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner informed the committee about the seizure of the aforesaid 3,039.92 MT of coal detected by the three-member panel.
The Deputy Commissioner was advised to shift the said quantity of coal to any of the existing depots designated by Coal India Limited (CIL) in the district and to store the said coal with a signboard marking it as illegally mined coal other than inventoried coal, provided sufficient space was available in the CIL-designated depots.
A report on the availability of space in the existing CIL-designated depots in the districts was directed to be submitted. The Deputy Commissioner accordingly informed the Secretary to the Mining and Geology Department and the Director of Mineral Resources about the availability of sufficient space in the CIL-designated depot at Nongjri and recommended that the illegally-mined coal found in the two aforesaid districts be stored in the said depot.
The Deputy Commissioner, however, has not informed the committee about the transportation of the aforesaid 920.73 MT illegally-mined coal found in the aforesaid two villages to the CIL-designated depot to date.
The committee recommended that the 920.73 MT of illegally mined coal in Rajaju and Diengngan be transferred to the CIL-designated depot at Nongjri and steps be taken to auction off the said coal under the provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
In his 31st interim report, submitted in July, Justice Katakey mentioned the disappearance of over 4,000 MT of illegally mined coal in two villages in West Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi, prompting the high court to order the state government to take urgent steps and hold the people or officials accountable.
The MBDA had recorded 1,839.03 MT of coal at a depot in Ri-Bhoi. However, during an inspection, only 2.5 MT of coal was found along with residue and traces of coal.
Similarly, only about 8 MT of coal, along with residue and traces of coal, were found at a depot in West Khasi Hills, compared to 2,121.62 MT of coal recorded by the MBDA earlier.
The then Cabinet Minister and UDP MLA from the coal-rich Khliehriat constituency in East Jaintia Hills, Kyrmen Shylla, stated that the rain may have washed away 4,000 MT of illegally mined coal. His comment drew severe backlash, forcing an embarrassed state government to direct the district administrations concerned to conduct an inquiry to “find out the truth”.
The inquiry report is still awaited.
