SHILLONG:
The Meghalaya Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Meghalaya Mineral (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2022. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma told media persons that the rules have to be framed by the state government as per the direction of the NGT.
The chief minister also informed that the rules will apply to both major and minor minerals and will mostly deal with properly monitoring of the illegal transportation and storage of minerals and to regulate the issuance of transport challans and in exercise of the power conferred under section 23 (C) of the MMDR Act 1952.
He said though the mandate was there, the rules were never there for the past 30-40 years since the MMDR Act was promulgated.
Based on this, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had then made provisions on their own to monitor the movement of the trucks, storage of the minerals and transportation challans, he said adding that NGT had made an observation that the state government should come out with the rules at the earliest.
“Accordingly, we are following the orders of the NGT by coming up with the rules to regulate the issuance of transport challan, storage of minerals and monitor illegal transportation,” he added.
The cabinet decision also came at a time when the Meghalaya High Court has taken cognisance of the rampant illegal coal mining and transportation in the state.
In its order passed on March 7, the division bench of the court had said that the directions issued by the Supreme Court have to be complied with.
It had said that the orders passed by the NGT need to be followed and the recommendations made by the committee set up by the NGT, several of which have been expressly approved by the Supreme Court, have to be implemented.
The bench further observed that the state has done precious little to ensure the transportation of the coal that had been previously mined and the auction thereof through Coal India Limited as per the directions of the Supreme Court and the NGT, which has resulted in the present unacceptable scenario.
It is more than likely that a committee may be set up to monitor the implementation of the directions and recommendations, which the committee must have the freedom and authority to function without any political interference, it had said.