It has now been eight years since the National Green Tribunal banned rat-hole coal mining in Meghalaya and the economic effects of the decision have been disastrous, Rajya Sabha MP WR Kharlukhi has said.
The ban on coal mining and the resultant loss of revenue for the state exchequer has been the major cause of Meghalaya’s financial crisis, he added.
The ban came following a plea by residents who live downstream of many rivers that originate in Meghalaya, who complained that the waters were heavily affected by acid mine drainage (AMD) and other pollutants generated by the rat-hole coal mines. Since the ban, rules have been put in place for more ‘scientific’ mining even though opposition parties claim that so-called ‘high levels’ have been able to carry on with rat-hole mining regardless of the ban.
“People talk about the environment and how we should protect it and I accept that but it has now been eight years,” Kharlukhi said. “Coal was a source of livelihood for so many people, not just coal miners but every roadside shopkeeper in coal areas.”
He also said that the district councils, long dependent on mineral royalties, have also suffered and, in turn, have not been able to pay their employees on time in some cases.
As an MP in New Delhi, he also wondered why, when the heavily polluted air in the national capital is said to take 10 years off the life of an ordinary person, more has not been done to combat this problem whereas Meghalaya’s coal industry received an immediate banning order.
