SHILLONG, June 8: Lok Sabha member from Shillong, Vincent H. Pala said exempting Meghalaya from the purview of the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act (MMDR) would solve its “coal trouble”.
Batting for an amendment to the MMDR Act, he advised the state government to move the Centre for exempting the state from its purview.
He criticised the MDA government for its inept handling of the illegal coal mining issue.
“If the Congress comes to power, we will bring a resolution in the Assembly or take a Cabinet decision in this regard and approach the Centre for exemption,” Pala said on Tuesday.
“The government is clueless about handling the issue except for looting truckers and poor miners who have already been badly affected,” he said, asserting that he was in favour of regulated mining and sustainable development.
The MP said there was nothing new in Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma’s warning that the government would crack down on illegal mining activities. “We have been constantly hearing that (legal) coal mining would resume in the state but to no avail,” he said.
The MMDR Act is an Act of Parliament enacted to regulate the mining sector in India. It was amended in 2015 and again in 2016. This Act forms the basic framework of mining regulation in the country and is applicable to all minerals except those listed as minor and atomic minerals.
