SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Government is working out the details of an appeal against the National Green Tribunal order banning rat hole mining in the State to be submitted at the next hearing of NGT.
The State Government has also formed a committee to prepare a comprehensive report on the measures initiated by it for scientific mining to be placed before the NGT.
Additional Chief Secretary KS Kropha would head the committee. Speaking to The Shillong Times on Saturday, he said that the committee had a few meeting and it was working on the guidelines and implementation of the State Mining Policy.
He said that the committee could not give any deadline as to when the guidelines would be ready. He only said that the committee was on the job to prepare the guidelines as soon as possible. The committee will guide all the concerned departments to come up with a comprehensive rule which is required to be completed as expeditiously as possible and place it before NGT,” he said.
The NGT in its order passed on April 17 had also directed the State Chief Secretary and Director General of Police to ensure that rat hole mining/ illegal mining was stopped ‘forthwith’ throughout the State and illegal transport of coal did not take place.
The order came after the All Dimasa Students’ Union and Dima Hasao District Committee of Assam moved the Tribunal on April 2, stating that illegal rat hole mining in Jaintia Hills was polluting the Kopili River in neighbouring Assam and turning its water acidic.
The next hearing of NGT is scheduled on May 19.
