High Court pulls up Meghalaya govt. for illegal coal mining 

The High Court of Meghalaya has declined to exonerate the Meghalaya government from complicity in the export of illegally-mined coal to Bangladesh. 

GUWAHATI

The High Court of Meghalaya has declined to exonerate the Meghalaya government from complicity in the export of illegally-mined coal to Bangladesh. 

Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) regarding the export of coal through western Meghalaya’s Gasuapara land custom station on Tuesday, the court took note of the State government’s submission that a system has been put in place for checking the illegal mining and transportation of coal within the State. 

The court said even the assumption of some measures having been adopted would not exonerate the State or lead to any inference that the State may not have been complicit in the export of illegally-mined coal to Bangladesh before such a system was put in place. 

The PIL filed by Meghalaya-based trader Champer M. Sangma refers to the export of coal between December 2021 and May 2022 by an Assam-based company to Bangladesh. The court observed the affidavit filed by the respondent was “eerily silent” on the origin of the coal but documents showed the coal was obtained from two other companies “owned and controlled” by the same person or members of the family of the same person. 

The court also perused reports of an investigation by the relevant authorities in Assam which pointed to the respondent “indulging in creating a fictitious supply chain through the generation of fake tax invoices and e-way bills”. 

Also read: NGT upholds ban on coal mining in Meghalaya