Citizens of Meghalaya’s coal-rich areas, such as East Jaintia Hills, are eagerly awaiting the returning of mining, Khliehriat MLA and cabinet minister Kyrmen Shylla said today.
The National Green Tribunal banned rat-hole coal mining in Meghalaya in 2014 and 10 years later so-called scientific mining is set to begin in the state.
Shylla said that for the past decade ordinary people of East Jaintia Hills have been scraping a living through agriculture or through other means after the coal industry came to a sudden halt.
“It is not that people have shifted, it is rather that the people are trying to survive either through agriculture or whichever way they can,” he said. “Now they never say this or that job is too small or pays too little – they are doing everything to earn a livelihood and trying to get the support of the government through subsidies and schemes.”
With the advent of scientific mining and continued government support, it is hoped that East Jaintia Hills will be able to stand on its own feet once again, he stated.
A recent public hearing in Byndihati was in favour of mining, which Shylla noted. “Everybody supported it as their concern is to see it (scientific mining) starts and if anything needs to be changed then they will request the government. For now the public wants to see proper mining start and how it will be”.
Talking about agriculture as an alternate means of livelihood, Shylla said that a shift away from pesticides to organic farming would be beneficial for health and for livelihoods. “We see huge patches of unused land in the state and if we can utilise them we will earn and if the soil is fertile enough we should go ahead.”
