TURA: Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress (MPYC) president Richard Marak on Sunday accused Chief Minister Conrad Sangma of misinterpreting the Supreme Court judgement on coal mining and misleading the people of the state.
“The actual judgement berates the government and vindicates the NGT ban. The court did not set aside the NGT ban but only refines it. Mining is only to be done as per the central laws (MMDR, Environmental Protection Act etc). The district council and the state government have no jurisdiction to legislate on mining lease,” Marak alleged in a statement issued here.
The MPYC president said that the government had sought exemption from the NGT and the central laws to continue the traditional rat hole mining and as such, proclaiming victory over the judgement shows their ‘stupidity’ and wilful interpretation of the judgement.
Marak said that another misinterpretation was the claim by the government that it sought protection of the rights of the indigenous and tribal population of Meghalaya, which was upheld.
“This was never in doubt. The Constitution of India has provided this and these rights have only been trampled with by our own indigenous elite” he said. Recalling the Ksan mine tragedy, he said that protection of the rights of the indigenous and tribal population does not only mean the rights of the coal lobby, but of mine workers whether indigenous or migrant.
