Supreme Court Directs Meghalaya Govt to Pay Rs 100 Crore Fine for Failing to Curb Illegal Coal Mining

New Delhi, July 3, 2019:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Meghalaya government to deposit the Rs 100 crore fine imposed on it by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for failing to curb illegal coal mining with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

A bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and K.M.Joseph directed the state administration to hand over the illegally extracted coal to Coal India Limited (CIL) which will auction it and deposit the funds with the state government.

Earlier, the Meghalaya Government argued for the 'protection of the rights of the indigenous and the Tribal population of Meghalaya'.

The said contention of the Meghalaya Government has been upheld by the Supreme Court.

After the judgement, the Meghalaya Government stated that "the Apex Court has further held that it is the tribals who are the lawful owners of the extracted coal. As a one-time measure, the Hon’ble Court has directed Coal India Ltd. to auction off all the coal which is already extracted, and the proceeds of the auction shall be remitted to the State Govt. which in turn shall remit the same to the lawful owners of the coal."

With this, the Supreme Court has lifted the ban on coal mining subject to compliance with the provisions of the MMDR Act, 1957 and the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.

However, the mining activities can be only be restarted in terms of the guidelines of the Court.

The Supreme Court further accepted the contention of the State Govt. that a penalty of 100 Crores as imposed by the NGT would cause hardship to the small State of Meghalaya, however, the Court has asked the Meghalaya Government to deposit the fine of Rs. 100 crores from the illegal miners and transporters of illegally mined coal, who the State Government has continuously penalized for violations.

The Meghalaya Government has said in a statement that "the judgement is likely to pave the way for the future and is a massive victory in the Govt’s efforts to bolster and protect the rights of its Tribal citizens and also of all stake-holders who were suffering on account of the ban on coal mining. The State Govt. has been directed to continue to take action against illegal miners under relevant provision of MMDR Act."

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