The state administration in Meghalaya has been given four weeks to implement the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) and Supreme Court’s (SC) directions on illegal rat-hole coal mining.
Rat-hole mining is a risky method of extracting coal that involves excavating narrow vertical tunnels into the ground. Workers are at risk since most of these tunnels were dug without following requirements. In December 2018, 15 miners in Meghalaya died after becoming trapped in one of these mines.
“None of the directives given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court…and the NGT have been complied with by the appropriate authorities,” said a high court bench led by chief judge Sanjib Banerjee and justices HS Thangkhiew and W Diengdoh in an order issued on May 24.
The court’s decision came after Justice BP Katakey (retd.) submitted a preliminary report that found non-compliance with the NGT and SC orders on the matter. Following a report, the high court took suo motu cognizance of the case and appointed justice Katakey to investigate the situation and make recommendations in April of this year.
The high court decision stated, “It is regrettable that orders made by the SC and NGT continue to be disobeyed and the directions given are not implemented…all relevant authorities should get their acts in order and ensure complete implementation of the directions within four weeks from date.”
Justice Katakey will continue to monitor the recommendations’ implementation, according to the court. It further ordered that copies of Justice Katakey’s findings be provided to the Centre and the Meghalaya government for responses on the directions’ implementation. On June 21, the case will be heard again.
