Around 1,900 criminal cases have been filed over illegal mining and transportation of coal, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said in the Assembly today during a debate on the Governor’s address.
The CM informed the house that 1,701 cases have been registered against illegal coal transport and 203 against illegal mining over the past few years.
“It doesn’t mean that things are not happening when it involves other activities, police are doing their jobs,” Sangma said.
He added that there is already a system where the central government, Supreme Court and Coal India have prescribed certain ways of auctioning and transporting coal for which auctioning has taken place and is going to continue.
Although the National Green Tribunal banned rat-hole coal mining in Meghalaya in 2014, the activity has continued illegally and the Sangma-led government from 2018 to 2023 was continually accused by rivals of looking the other way if not actively colluding in the illegalities. The Meghalaya High Court recently decided that central paramilitary forces need to be deployed to end the illegal trade in the state.
“We must realise that every single truck plying is not an illegal truck. It is important to understand that there are some people trying to get into these activities and police have been very strict. There are a large number of vehicles with proper documentation and the police department has been strictly instructed that proper vigilance is to be maintained and all areas of concern are addressed,” Sangma said.
