The East Jaiñtia National Council (EJNC) has served an ultimatum of one week to the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government to hand over the case of the deaths of six labourers in a coal mine at Rymbai, East Jaiñtia Hills, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Addressing the media today, Sambormi Lyngdoh, the EJNC president, said hundreds of coal-laden trucks with political backing travel on the highways every day during the night. Coal trucks having special arrangements from the well-connected can ply easily while those without special arrangements cannot.
Questioning as to how the coal trucks can ply without the knowledge of the police and the Transport Department, Lyngdoh said, “If the Transport Minister has given direction to seize the coal-laden trucks, how can these illegal activities still happen?”
Only those with contacts in the higher echelons of power are able to buy the requisite challans from the Directorate of Mineral Resources for coal transport and they then resell the challan at exorbitant rates on the black market.
“It is an open secret that coal has become a political business under the MDA while ministers keep denying their involvement. If the Director General of Police, Transport Minister and Home Minister have no idea about these illegalities then how are these trucks plying as per their whims and fancies?” he alleged.
He said that time and again the state government is in denial mode about illegal mining and illegal transportation of coal but the Rymbai disaster exposed the fact that illegalities are taking place.
“In this incident, the family members of the deceased coal labourers have stated that the labourers were working in a coal mine belonging to Bison Shylla and Tiewly Shadap, who are close allies of cabinet minister Kyrmen Shylla. However, it pains us to see that the police have not booked the two individuals despite the strong statements made against them,” he alleged.
As it is the well-connected who are involved in the illegal coal business, according to the EJNC, it has no confidence that the local police will be able to investigate the matter thoroughly and therefore demands that the CBI be called in.
