Shillong, Sep 23: The Meghalaya government has ordered a fresh inspection of coal dump sites in Diengngan and Rajaju villages after a significant discrepancy was found between aerial survey data and ground verification results.
Nearly 4,000 tonnes of illegally mined coal detected in an aerial survey could not be accounted for during ground verification.
The committee investigating the discrepancy attributed the errors to unintentional gaps in information due to the region’s difficult terrain and environmental conditions and absence of geotagged coordinates likely caused inspection teams to miss actual dump sites.
According to the committee the aerial survey recorded 2,121.62 tonnes of coal in Diengngan village and 1,839.03 metric tonnes in Rajaju village, but ground verification teams found only 2.50 tonnes and 8 tonnes, respectively.
The committee recommended that reinspection is carried out in both villages with precise GPS coordinates to ensure accurate identification and verification of coal dumps. The committee also recommended implementation of enhanced surveillance, stronger enforcement mechanisms and coordinated inter-agency efforts to prevent cross-border smuggling.
