Coal miners’ forum, MIPRL resent NGT Committee guidelines

Shillong, September 3, 2014: The State Co-ordination Committee of Coal Owners’, Miners’ and Dealers’ Forum has demanded that the NGT constituted Committee must allow continuation of the decades-old practice of collection of royalty by registered coal challan dealers on behalf of the miners or to allow part payment of royalty by the miners against their accessed quantity and declared stock of coal.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, secretary of the forum, M. Kharkongor, said that payment of royalty in advance at one go for the whole lot of stock of coal assessed and declared is extremely impractical and not feasible owing to the financial constrains and the high rates of coal in the prevailing market.

According to Kharkongor, such directions will greatly affect both the domestic coal miners and the international coal exporters.

The NGT Committee, in its guidelines, had stated that on the following day after collection of royalty, the Director of Mineral Resources (DMR) shall notify the date from which the office of the DMR will start issuing the transport permits.

The guidelines further said that owners who pay the royalty in full will be issued Numbered Transport Permits by the offices of DMR.

The forum has asked the stakeholders involved in coal mining not to comply with the directions of the NGT Committee until their demands were addressed.

The Committee asked the State Government to make the mining plan public and demanded that the NGT Committee should speed up the evaluation and assessment of extracted coal in West Khasi Hills, saying that the weather is conducive now. The forum also alleged that the Committee was making excuses that the assessment in South Garo Hills could not be completed owing to militancy.

Meanwhile, Movement For Indigenous People’s Rights And Livelihood-Meghalaya said that the Committee’s guidelines has created serious economic roadblocks by putting harsh and intractable conditions like prepayment of royalty within 14 days which will create severe financial burden on the coal mine owners, operators and traders.

The Government has failed to appreciate the dire financial circumstances of the people and the guidelines reflect its priority to only fill its coffers by way of collecting revenue at any cost without considering the interest of the people, MIPRL claimed.

In this regard MIPRL has written to Chief Minister Mukul Sangma requesting him to remove such draconian conditions inherent in the said guidelines within 10 days.

Source: The Shillong Times