Shillong, Oct 26: Former Rajya Sabha MP Wanweiroy Kharlukhi has said the revival of coal mining in Jaintia Hills is a matter of livelihood for the people of the region, while expressing caution over assurances made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on resolving the issue.
Kharlukhi, who has decided to support the Congress Party candidate Vincent H Pala in the upcoming Lok Sabha by-election, said he had consistently raised the issue of coal mining in Parliament, arguing that the ban had affected the ability of people in Jaintia Hills to earn their livelihood.
Kharlukhi served in Parliament from 2020 to June this year. Like Pala, much of whose family wealth came from coal, he hails from Jaintia Hills.
“Mining is at the core of my heart because I come from Jaintia Hills. I have even spoken about it in Parliament. I said that earning our livelihood is a fundamental right, and when they banned mining in my district, I felt they were taking away the right of our people to earn their livelihood,” Kharlukhi said.
His remarks come amid renewed assurances from the BJP that it would work towards resolving the coal mining issue in Meghalaya. It was the saffron party’s assurance on this and other matters that convinced eight United Democratic Party (UDP) MLAs to defect to the BJP recently.
However, Kharlukhi pointed out that similar assurances had been made in 2023 but had not resulted in the resumption of coal mining.
He said the issue involved the National Green Tribunal (NGT), an independent statutory body, and questioned whether political assurances alone could resolve a matter that also required addressing legal hurdles.
“I don’t know about the assurances of the government and the court. What is there between the government and the court, I don’t know. Everybody can give assurances, but let’s see the result,” he said.
Kharlukhi said he would welcome any genuine effort to revive coal mining in Jaintia Hills, but stressed that the views of the people affected by the issue should also be considered.
“I will be very happy if they can really revive coal mining in Jaintia Hills. But at the same time, I think this question should be asked to the people of Jaintia Hills in general. Are they happy with how the state government is dealing with coal?” he said.
