In Meghalaya South West Khasi Hills district, a committee formed by Meghalaya High Court has recommended explosives to close the mouth of the illegal coal mines.
This recommendation was made in the committee’s 25th Interim report under the chairmanship of Retd. Justice B.P. Katakey after district authorities complained about the difficulties they face in ensuring these mines are closed permanently. Mineral rights authorities said that all the old mines in the area could be easily reopened and, hence, hard to police.
In this respect, the committee advised technical and logistical support in exploring these entrances so as to discourage repeat attempts to reopen them.
In response, a bench of Justices W. Diengdoh and H.S. Thangkhiew acknowledged the recommendation and directed the state’s advocate general, Amit Kumar, to brief the court on actions taken based on the committee’s latest reports. This is again apparent from the deposition of the court, which is so well aware of the fact that Meghalaya is still reeling under the menace of the so-called ‘illegal mining.’
Justice Katakey was first entrusted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2019 to determine the prospect of environmental harm from coal mining and suggest rehabilitation. He was given the position to head the committee in 2022 by the Meghalaya High Court with regard to the illegal mining of coal through a suo motu case.
In its 24th report on the matter, the committee recommended using satellite imagery to scrutinize the establishment of coal-bearing zones in the state. However, North East Space Applications Centre (NESAC), in his testimony, told the court that the task was compounded by the fact that there were no high-resolution Indian satellites available for use.
Instead, the advocate general proposed that this survey might be entrusted to the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority. The high court, being aware of such delays pointed out that mapping of these areas through satellite imagery should be done.
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