The demolition of illegal coke plants is only the first step in what should be a longer legal process to arrest the owners of such establishments and discover how the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) had given permission to several of these to operate despite stringent public opposition.
This was stated by the Environment Coordination Committee (ECC) of Elaka Sutnga through a press release today.
The ECC expressed relief that the demolition of several coke plants, as order by the Meghalaya High Court, has already taken place and is expected to be completed by July 20.
The next step, according to the committee, would be to find how these coke plants had obtained consent to operate (CTO) permission from the state government through “unprofessional, reckless” officials of the MSPCB.
The ECC said that it is ready to assist the authorities in uncovering the owners of the coke plants within East Jaiñtia Hills as it has enough proof. It also claimed that many of these plants are operating under the benami practice.
The body also found it “most shocking” to see the MSPCB issue fresh CTE (consent to establish, which is a step down from CTO) to three new coke plants this year even as the legal battle to shut others down was being taken up in different courts. These three, the ECC said, were categorised as “erring units” last year and were fined but the MSPCB had legalised them.
The ECC demanded that the government stay the operation of these coke plants and alleged that by issuing the CTE, the government was not considerate of the wishes of the people, who have often protested against the industry.
