Meghalaya: TMC demands judicial intervention to end illegal coal mining

Shillong: The opposition Trinamool Congress in Meghalaya has demanded judicial intervention to end illegal coal mining and transportation in the state.

The TMC accused the state government of being complicit in the illegal activities.

TMC Vice President George B Lyngdoh stated, "The government's denial is not surprising at all because we have seen that the government has tried to cover up and even invoke the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act or MMDR on several occasions to justify the coal that was confiscated and provide a legal route for confiscated coal to be transported from the state."

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Lyngdoh claimed that Meghalaya had turned into a crony capitalist state where a few relatives and businessmen connected to the upper classes continue to loot the resources at the expense of small miners, who are denied access to government officials, and where a small number of politicians and those involved in the entire racket have eaten the entire cake.

"The government is bound to deny because their hands are so deep in it. It is not shocking that the Deputy Chief Minister, or any other minister for that matter, previously denied even when their hands were clearly tied. They even denied it on the Assembly floor, despite the fact that they were openly using parts of the MMDR to permit the transportation of coal," Lyngdoh stated.

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The opposition's remarks come in response to the 18th interim report on coal mining activities in the Jaintia Hills submitted by retired judge BP Katakey to the High Court of Meghalaya.

The report found that illegal coal mining is rampant in the state and that the government has not done enough to stop it.

The opposition has also accused the government of trying to cover up the illegal activities.

The TMC maintained that the only way to end illegal coal mining in Meghalaya is through judicial intervention.