A total nine illegal coke plants have been demolished in two districts of the State till today.
In East Jaiñtia Hills district, out of the 34 illegal coke plants, two were destroyed by the district administration in the demolition drive that began today and seven out of 57 were razed in Kyllonmathei area of Shallang by the West Khasi Hills district administration, in the drive that began since July 7.
The two plants demolished in Elaka Sutnga were Halari Coke and Shauryansi Coke where the demolition of the chimneys of these two illegal coke factories was carried out under the supervision of Additional Deputy Commissioner, J. Shylla.
The team had representatives from the office of Superintendent of Police, Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board, and District Commerce and Industries Centre.
East Jaiñtia Hills Deputy Commissioner, Abhilash Baranwal said the two factories were constructed without having Consent to Established (CTE) from Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board.
He informed that the district administration had passed two orders to carry out the demolition exercise on July 7 and July 11 as there was a likelihood that these illegal under-construction factories might attempt to operate clandestinely using locally sourced coal and thus facilitating illegal coal mining within the district.
Baranwal said the demolition was carried out by blasting through explosives. While Halari Coke Plant was demolished at around 12 pm, Shauryansi Coke was demolished at around 3:30 pm.
“All safety precautions were observed during the process and no injuries were reported. The demolition exercise will continue over the next few weeks against all illegally constructed coke plants within the district,” he said.
Names of the illegal coke factories in West Khasi Hills district were not revealed by the district administration.
The decision to demolish the illegal coke plants and take appropriate legal action has been taken from an order issued by the Meghalaya High Court in December 2022. The court responded to a PIL stressing the importance of scrapping these works to restore the ecological balance.
The ongoing demolition of chimneys and other physical infrastructure of the illegal coke plants is expected to be completed by July 20.
In the meantime, source said an owner of an illegal coke factory was arrested today. The total number of arrest made in the district is now six.
Meanwhile, the West Khasi Hills district magistrate has imposed Section 144 CrPC was imposed around the Kyllonmathei area in Shallang for the safety during the demolition of the chimneys.
