SHILLONG:
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, on May 3, said that the four miners who have received the mining lease will have to apply for state clearances such as environmental clearances, pollution board clearances and complete some other formalities before they can start the process of scientific coal mining in the state.
Sangma, while thanking the centre, for approving the process of coal mining, said that the approval of licenses has paved way for more miners to apply for licences, and similar process will be followed for future applications.
“I would like to thank the government of India, especially coal minister Prahlad Joshi for his support to ensure that Meghalaya can restart coal mining in a sustainable and scientific manner,” Sangma told media persons after the felicitation programme in Nongstoin.
Thanking the proponents, department, and administration for felicitating the MDA government for making the process of scientific mining a reality after the 2014 NGT ban, Sangma said that it is indeed a momentous occasion for the state.
“After the NGT ban in 2014, there was a lot of confusion on how we should move forward, what should be the steps that the government should take. It was only in 2018 when the MDA government came in when we decided to work towards lifting the ban, and we will work towards once again start mining in state,” Sangma said.
Sangma while deliberating how mining will propel the state’s economy, pointed that getting the mining approval from the centre was one of the most difficult tasks for the MDA government as they had no idea where to start from and how to move forward after the ban.
“The green signal required a lot of convincing, lobbying in Delhi, explanation on why Meghalaya should be given special provision for mining, and after many years I have the sense of satisfaction today to see that what we have done in the last 5-6 years has beard fruits,” he said.
He further said that restarting mining would change the lives of many people in the state economically.