A coke oven plant in Shallang was demolished by the district administration on July 8.
The demolition of the factory’s chimney stack comes after the arrest of four owners. Partial demolition was effected by the West Khasi Hills authorities in December 2022. Sources say that all 47 illegal factories will be demolished in the weeks to come.
Earlier, the division bench of the Meghalaya High Court observed that the rampant functioning of illegal coke plants leads to the obvious inference of rampant illegal mining of coal in the state despite the state government’s assurance to the contrary.
According to officials, while some coke units got single window clearance, others got consent to establish but are yet to get consent to operate.
Once the plants are demolished, that will help curtail the extraction and trade in illegal coal, the authorities hope.
