SHILLONG:
Retired Justice BP Katakeyhas said a revised comprehensive plan will soon be put in place for auctioning of the 32 lakh metric tons of coal lying in different parts of the state.
Katakey has been appointed by the Meghalaya High Court for recommending measures to be taken by the state in compliance with the directions issued by the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal (NGT), including sale of the already extracted coal.
“As soon as it is done I will request the high court to allow resumption of the auction because it has to be done by the Coal India Limited as per the Supreme Court’s order. My job is to oversee the implementation of both the directions of Supreme Court and NGT,” he said.
He, however, said things have now started moving in the right direction.
In his preliminary report submitted to the Meghalaya High Court on May 24, Justice Katakey had revealed the failure of the state authorities to comply with the directions issued by the Supreme Court and the NGT in respect to the coal issue in the state.
The preliminary findings in the 41-page report dated May 23, 2022 indicated that except for notifying The Meghalaya Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2022 as recently as March 24, 2022, “none of the directions issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court … and the NGT have been complied with by the concerned authorities…”
The authorities that have been specifically mentioned include the State of Meghalaya, the State and Central Pollution Control Boards, the North Eastern Space Application Centre and the Integrated Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
In the preliminary findings, the details of the non-compliance have been pointed out. In addition, the report makes recommendations to ensure implementation of the outstanding directions in point form, so that the appropriate agencies can deal with the various aspects.