The Meghalaya government has launched a probe into the alleged “misappropriation or illegal diversion” of around 4000 MT of illegally mined coal in the state.
The probe follows a July 24 directive from Meghalaya High Court to “take urgent action and hold accountable” those responsible for the disappearance of the illegally mined coal from the two designated storage sites.
The issue was also raised in Parliament, prompting Union coal minister G. Kishan Reddy to inform the House that it would seek detailed clarification from the state government on vanishing coal.
Meghalaya deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong on Saturday said that deputy commissioners and superintendents of police have been instructed to carry out a detailed probe into the alleged misappropriation of coal.
The stock of the illegally mined coal was stored at two sites — West Khasi Hills district’s Rajaju and Ri Bhoi district’s Diengngan.
The disappearance of the coal was flagged in the 31st interim report of the court-instituted Justice (Retd) B.P. Katakey Committee, looking into issues related to coal mining and coal transportation and prompting the high court to seek accountability from the state government.
The disappearance of the seized coal attracted widespread attention following an observation by state minister Kyrmen Shylla that the coal may have been washed away by rain.
Tynsong, who is also the home minister, said the government has asked all district administrations and SPs to look into the issue flagged by the court, and the wrongdoings will be dealt with according to the law of the land.
Following the probe, a comprehensive report will be submitted to the court.
The court committee had raised several questions about the disappearance of the seized coal vis-à-vis the monitoring mechanism in place.
Of the 1,839.03 MT of coal recorded at the Diengngan village depot, only 2.5 MT of coal was found during physical inspection along with residue. Of the 2,121.62 MT of coal recorded at Rajaju village depot, only 8 MT was found.
The NGT had banned rat-hole mining in the state in 2014 because of its unscientific and unsafe nature but illegal mining continued to be evident from the deaths of miners.