Justice (retd) BP Katakey on Monday said it is the responsibility of scientific coal miners to close all pit heads within a one-kilometer radius of their operational area, otherwise mined coal will be deemed illegal.
The State government recently announced commencement of ‘scientific mining’ of coal in the state.. The Saryngkham A will carry out an open-cast mining of coal over an area of 148 hectares at Byndihati village, East Jaiñtia Hills district.
Katakey said that whatever coal that is lying outside of the centralised depot set up by the Coal India Limited (CIL) all is illegal in the state.
“Since all inventoried coal has been shifted to centralized depots, any coal found outside these depots is considered illegal. It is the government’s responsibility to take action under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act,” he said.
Katakey, who today convened a meeting with the state government, had a detailed discussion on the aerial survey report submitted to the committee and addressed complaints filed by four individuals on illegal coal mining.
He said the government will present its clarifications tomorrow on the aerial survey.
The aerial survey, directed by Justice Katakey, was conducted across four major coal-producing districts — East Jaintia Hills, West Khasi Hills, South West Khasi Hills, and South Garo Hills. The basis for the survey was the presence of coal dumps identified in the government’s 2019 affidavit submitted before the Supreme Court, which specified the coordinates of these dumps.
Katakey explained that the committee had instructed the government to conduct an aerial survey within a one-kilometer radius of the inventoried coal dumps to check for any additional, unaccounted coal.
On the complaint filed by four persons against the illegal coal mining in South Garo Hills, Justice (retd) Katakey said the report of the investigation into the case has already been submitted to him by the committee headed by Naba Bhattacharjee.
According to him, as there are still investigations to be conducted, the government has directed the Deputy Commissioner of South Garo Hills to conduct an independent verification and it is expected that the report will be submitted within a week.
Katakey reiterated that his mandate, as assigned by the High Court, is to ensure the implementation of the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) directions. His role involves overseeing the auction of inventoried coal and preventing illegal coal mining and transportation.
“My reports strictly adhere to the mandate set by the High Court. I will not comment on the performance or lapses of any authority. Whatever I needed to state has been submitted in my reports,” he said.
