Court-appointed panel refutes Meghalaya Government’s coal estimate
The Hindu
Extracted coal cannot be more than 19 lakh metric tonnes, retired judge heading the committee said
GUWAHATI
A court-appointed committee has refuted the Meghalaya Government’s estimate of coal extracted before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned the hazardous rat-hole mining in April 2014.
The High Court of Meghalaya had appointed Justice B.P. Katakey, a retired judge of the Gauhati High Court, a year ago to ascertain whether the State government cracked down on illegal coal mining as directed by the Supreme Court and the NGT.
The Meghalaya Government had claimed 32 lakh MT of coal had already been extracted when the NGT ban had kicked in.
“According to my findings, the coal stock is 19 lakh MT at most and not 32 lakh MT as the State government had told the Supreme Court. Of the total stock, three lakh MT has already been transported,” Justice Katakey told journalists in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong.
He said he had sought a drone survey of the inventoried coal. The first report of such a survey is expected soon.
He said he was tasked with ensuring the auction of the extracted coal and transportation of the reassessed inventoried coal to the depots of Coal India Limited.
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