Shillong Jan 8: Opposition leader Mukul Sangma wanted an investigation into the failure of the state government to facilitate legal mining of coal in the state.
“For the best reasons known to the people in government and also to the chief minister, who is holding the portfolio of mining and geology, they have not done anything to facilitate this whole resumption of mining or rather starting of mining in conformity with various statutory laws,” Mukul said.
He alleged that the MDA government instead of going all out of the way based on what promises they made, they did not want to see legal mining.
This is something which requires proper investigation in the backdrop of innumerable repeated alleged irregularities and alleged illegal coal mining taking place across the state including illegal transportation at the cost of the interest of the state and the people.
“Therefore it requires an investigation and that is what we have all along been demanding. Have the state government been responsive? No, the state government were all the time on a denial mode,” he said.
Stating that the Meghalaya High Court has also taken cognizance of the matter and pulled up the state government, Mukul said the reasons for this are known to the people of the state.
He said that many people have been expressing their concerns and have tried to draw the attention of the government and the authorities but they have not succeeded in doing so because the government has been very meticulously ensuring that whatever narratives pertaining to coal mining iare not based on facts but while it is just the opposite.
He said the instances of blatant illegal mining continued and that kind of blatant mining activities of this scale cannot happen unless it is under the patronage of the authorities themselves.
The High Court has taken note of it and in some of its orders had indicated that the contempt proceedings should be initiated against some of the officers in respect of some of the districts.
“These are glaring reflections of what is happening under the complete patronage of the government and that is a serious violation rather serious breach of the trust and confidence of the people of the state who have given them the mandate during the elections,” he added.
Further, the former chief minister has referred to the promise made by the NPP and its alliance partners to ensure immediate resumption of coal mining as a “blatant lie”.
He also recalled how the MDA partners went to the people and created the momentum of narratives pertaining to coal mining that the moment they are able to form the government, mining will start immediately.
Mukul, however, said he is not surprised because they themselves have clearly told about their usual election strategy which is “telling people lies to get votes.
He said assurance was made by none other than Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong of the MDA government and who is also the national vice president of the NPP.
He said what the then Congress government under his leadership told the people was the correct thing.
“We also suggested that yes as per what is required in the statutory laws, the mining plans have to be made by the land owners, who also has the right over the minerals under the surface of the land that they own based on our customary laws and practices which was not understood by NGT initially and also the concerned ministries. So from our side we made it abundantly clear in telling look the owners of the land also have the ownership over the minerals which are under the surface of the land,” he said adding this was upheld by the July 3, 2019 judgment of the Supreme Court pertaining to coal mining in Meghalaya.
To a question, the leader of opposition said that the people in authority should be pulled up for their deliberate failure to protect the interest of the state by allowing illegal coal mining.
