Oct 29, 2024 04:39 PM IST
The high court was told that NESAC was unable to survey the coal bearing areas due to the “unavailability of high-resolution Indian satellites”
SHILLONG: A committee set up by the Meghalaya high court has recommended the use of explosives to blow up the entrance of illegal coal mines in South West Khasi Hills district following concerns that it was difficult for the authorities to ensure that they remained closed since these could be quickly activated.
The justice B P Katakey (retd) committee made the recommendation in its 25th interim report after the district authorities raised concerns about the difficulty in regularly inspecting and monitoring the mines since “there are also countless abandoned coalmines, some of which could be easily activated in a very short time period”.
“It is also stated in the Report that technical and logical support be provided to enable sealing of entrance to these mines by explosives to prevent reactivation,” the bench of justices W Diengdoh and HS Thangkhiew said in its order after Monday’s proceedings that saw the state’s advocate general Amit Kumar briefing the court about the action taken on the committee’s 24th and 25th interim report.
Justice Katakey (retd) was initially appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2019 to assess the environmental impact of coal mining in Meghalaya and to recommend measures for restoring the environment damaged by illegal mining activities.
In 2022, justice Katakey was appointed by the high court to head the committee to recommend measures to be taken by the state in a case initiated by the court suo motu on illegal coal mining in the state.
On the committee’s recommendation in its 24th report to use satellite imagery to survey the state’s coal-bearing areas, the high court was told that the North East Space Applications Centre (NESAC) has reported that it would be unable to carry out this task due to the “unavailability of high-resolution Indian satellites”.
The advocate general told the high court that the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority might be tasked with this survey as an alternative. The high court expressed concern over the delay, recalling that the committee had recommended that it was “absolutely necessary that imagery of the coal-bearing areas be documented”, and told the state to quickly find a solution.
Another key issue raised in the report was the lack of progress in establishing Smart Integrated Check Gates in strategic locations such as Borsora, Bagli, and Cherragoan.
These check gates are crucial for monitoring coal transportation and preventing the illegal movement of coal. The state government has yet to implement this recommendation due to difficulties in identifying suitable locations.
A suggestion was made to designate a specific route for coal transporters to follow, and failure to comply would result in the coal being seized. However, the high court noted that this proposal has also not yet been acted upon by the state authorities.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for December 2,.
The court also requested information on the demurrage charges levied on coal and the quantity of inventoried coal still awaiting transportation.
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