Meghalaya: NPP chief slams Congress for doing nothing to reverse ban on coal mining

The National People's Party (NPP) on Sunday, January 15 criticised the Congress party for taking no fruitful steps to reverse the ban on coal mining, which halted the state's most important source of revenue generation. 

NPP chief  W R Kharlukhi further stated that the party is making every effort to begin scientific mining of the mineral after the Supreme Court lifted the ban in July 2019.

"In 2014, the National Green Tribunal banned coal mining in our state, ordering that scientific mining be implemented in Meghalaya. Since then, neither the federal nor state governments have taken any steps to initiate scientific mining in the state," said NPP state president W R Kharlukhi.

Kharlukhi stated that coal meets the needs of thousands of families and that a single decision deprived people of their fundamental right to earn a living.

"The ban deprived the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council and the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council of their primary source of revenue," he said of the ban's impact. Both councils' employees were unable to be paid for nearly a year."

"As a result of the ban, the cess from coal for education could not be collected. The Education Department, which is heavily reliant on cess revenue, was unable to pay teachers' salaries for months, sparking numerous protests and strikes," he added.

The scientific coal mining process, appeals, and applications that need to be authorised are at a very advanced stage, according to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday, January 11.

In response to claims made by the opposition that the state administration did not wish to initiate or enable lawful coal mining in Meghalaya, he stated that the scientific mining plan that needs to be authorised was at a very advanced stage with the centre.

Sangma remarked, "Mining stopped down while Mukul Sangma was the CM in 2014, and the opposition leaders are forgetting that it was shut down during their time." We don't know what he did in the five years following the end of mining, but it was this government that successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the prohibition.

He reminded the opposition that once the embargo was lifted, the MDA government issued 18 prospecting licences. "We hope it (mining) will move forward now that the mining plans are been presented," he said.
The opposition was criticised by the chief minister for making claims without supporting evidence.

Also read : Approval of scientific coal mining process at advanced stage: Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma