Five miners get coal licences, thank CM
Nongstoin, May 21: Five coal miners from the state, whose licence applications have been approved by the Ministry of Coal, have thanked Chief Minister Conrad Sangma for fulfilling his election promise.
In a statement issued on Friday, Shainingstar Khardewsaw and Marbiangbor Nongsiej, two of the four licence holders from West Khasi Hills, said, “We expect that with the end of the pandemic in the coming months, new life will begin for everybody. We are confident to say that, legal coal business in Meghalaya will be able to support maximum households especially in the rural areas. We sincerely thank the present leadership in the government for hearing the plight of the coal miners community and for delivering the election promise of lifting the ban on coal mining.”
The other two licence holders from West Khasi Hills are Sajay Laloo and Erantis Sympli. Teilang Pde from South West Khasi Hills also got mining licence.
The Supreme Court has allowed scientific coal mining in the state. Rat-hole mining was banned by the National Green Tribunal in 2014.