Guwahati: The Meghalaya high court on Monday sought to know why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against both the chief secretary (CS) and the director general of police (DGP) of the state for their apparent inaction and failure to check illegal coal mining operations and transportation in the State.

The full bench consisting of chief justice Sanjib Bannerjee and justice HS Thangkhiew Wanlura Diengdoh directed both the chief secretary and director general of police to file personal affidavits responding to the facts and the observations indicated in the 13th interim report filed by justice (retired) BP Katakey, who is spearheading the National Green Tribunal (NGT) inquiry into rampant illegal coal mining and transportation in Meghalaya.

According to the 13th interim report, an exercise by justice Katakey to obtain firsthand information by conducting a field visit to Shallang and Kyllonmathei areas in West Khasi Hills district on May 10, 2023, found that several coke oven plants are fully operating in the area with scant respect for the law.

“It was discovered in course of such field visit that a number of coke oven plants have been set up without obtaining consent to establish or consent to operate or both from the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board,” the report said.
Furthermore, the court observed that the observations in the 13th interim report indicate the presence of innumerable dumps having huge quantity of coal around the entire Shallang and Kyllonmathei areas.

“Indeed, two small coal dumps are noticed outside the boundary wall of Shallang Police Station. By the side of national highway No.127B and within two kilometres of Shallang Police Station, coal dumps are noticed which are covered by polythene sheets.

According to the report, two trucks laden with coal, one being registration No.ML 05 – K 0917 and the other without any registration plates, were found. The report refers to the fact that preceding the field visit conducted on May 10, 2023, there were no coal dumps other than the coal in depot No.9, which was a designated depot and the huge quantity of coal found all over the place “are illegally mined and transported coal.”

“There is a further observation that no action either by the civil administration or the police administration or by any officer authorised under the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 has been taken for illegal storage and transportation of such huge quantity of coal and that not a single case so far has been registered, not even a complaint filed,” the court observed.

Justice Katakey said, “No attempt has been made either by the police administration or by the civil administration to ascertain the owners of the coal, the landowners on whose land the coal has been dumped and the persons who transported such coal; and, no action has been taken against the two coal laden trucks nor any case registered in Shallang Police Station”.

The report suspects that there was a strong possibility of transportation of illegally mined coal in the Kyllonmathei area to coke oven plants illegally operating around such area.