Meghalaya govt urges Centre to deploy CAPF to curb illegal coal mining

On the directives of the High Court, the Meghalaya government has urged the Central government to deploy at least 10 companies of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) to curb illegal mining and transportation of coal, an official said on Tuesday.

An official of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that Meghalaya CM Conrad K. Sangma has written to the Central government, requesting deployment of 10 companies of CAPF to check illegal mining and transportation of coal in the state.

The Meghalaya High Court bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee had directed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on April 12 to deploy 10 companies of CAPF (around 900 personnel) to check the illegal mining and transportation of coal in the mountainous state.

The High Court order had said that the CAPF should be commanded independently or jointly by officers from the state police that may be selected by the court, strictly for the purpose of keeping vigilance on the roads and curbing the transportation of illegally mined coal in the state.

"The real intention of this court was for the local police not to be associated in the process since it had been ineffective in this regard, the CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) may be the appropriate force," the High Court order said.

Despite several orders from the Supreme Court, National Green Tribunal, and the High Court, illegal mining of coal continues in the state even to the extent of being exported to Bangladesh, by possible false declarations that the coal originated elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the state government earlier told the High Court that a notification was issued in March last year for prevention of illegal mining, transportation and storage.

In another notification in July last year, the state government constituted special courts in districts for the speedy trial of such offences.

The next hearing in the case will be held on April 27.

In April 2014, the NGT banned indiscriminate and hazardous rat hole coal mining in Meghalaya.

Many workers got trapped in the illegal and unsafe mines and subsequently died -- five last year, but only three bodies were retrieved from the flooded coal mine after hectic efforts for over 27 days in East Jaintia Hills district.

In December 2018, in a major tragedy in the same district, 15 miners died inside an abandoned coal mine.

The 15 miners, whose bodies were never found, had been stuck in the coal mine at a depth of nearly 370 feet after a tunnel was flooded with water from the nearby Lytein river.