The Hynñiewtrep Youth Council (HYC) gave vent to its frustrations over two matters that have come to the fore in Meghalaya of late – the order by the High Court to deploy central forces to curb illegal mining and transportation and the claim that Meghalaya’s MPs have not stood up for the state in Parliament.
In a release today, the HYC said that the High Court pulled up the state government over the “failure to stop illegal coal mining and transportation despite repeated directives” by the High Court, National Green Tribunal and Supreme Court and the summoning of the Chief Secretary and senior police officials to appear before it.
“Unfortunately the state government has been singularly lacking in taking any proactive step, whether to arrest the continuation of illegal extraction of coal or check the rampant illegal transportation thereof,” the HYC quoted the court as saying in its order.
“The court’s order shows that the NPP-led government has miserably failed to curb the illegal extraction and transportation of coal in the state, leading to the benefits of only a few selected persons or officials and leaving the rest of the population high and dry,” HYC general secretary Roy Kupar Synrem said, adding that it is a great shame that the people of Meghalaya will have to pay for the deployment of central forces to curb the illegal coal trade because of the state police force’s incapability.
“We blame the NPP-led government for these acts and events leading to such a drastic and serious observation and order of the High Court of Meghalaya,” he stated.
Synrem also asked the MPs representing Meghalaya in Parliament – two from the NPP and one from the Congress Party – to address the claim by the Trinamool Congress that none of them have “delivered on their responsibilities as the people’s representatives of the state.”
These include issues such as the inclusion of Khasi and Garo in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, implementation of the Inner Line Permit, coal mining and attacks on Christian institutions in neighbouring states.
“We condemn these irresponsible MPs of our state and call upon them to act with seriousness to raise issues concerning the state in Parliament and not be dependent on MPs from other states to raise our issues,” the pressure group leader said.
