“We had requested the State Government to give us a copy of the Mining Plan. But the Government could not provide us. We were told that they are still on the job” the Forum chairman Sony L Khyriem said while addressing a press conference here on Monday.
The NGT had earlier directed the State Government to formulate the Mining Plan.
Khyriem also questioned how the State Government can prepare the Mining Plan without involving the stakeholders. ) On August 27, the state government had informed that it had already submitted the Mining Plan and Health Plan to the concerned ministries in New Delhi.
On September 1, the tribunal had asked the committee of officials constituted by it in August to examine the Mining Plan in accordance with the Mining Rules and the schemes formulated by the Centre in consultation with the state government and place the same before the tribunal on the next date of hearing.
The hearing will take place on October 7-8 in Shillong.
Meanwhile, the Forum’s counsel ODV Ladia said that the State Government had never asked the miners to carry out mining as per the environmental norms.
“We were never instructed to comply with the environmental laws while carrying out the mining of coal,” Ladia said while asserting that the Forum wanted the State Government to implement such laws. He made it clear that the miners would be ready to carry out mining by following all the environmental norms provided there is a directive from the Government in this regard.
Pointing out to several legislations like the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977, Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Ladia said until date, the state government has never asked the miners to comply with such laws.
Moreover, the forum, which is aggrieved with the guidelines for transportation of extracted and assessed coal framed by the NGT committee, expecting some relief from the tribunal next month.
On the clause that mine owners should be given 14 working days for payment of royalty on the assessed/declared coal, the forum has been maintaining that it would be impractical for many coal miners and dealers to make a one-time payment of the royalty of the extracted assessed coal as even after payment of the royalty, it is uncertain whether the extracted coal would be sold out.
The forum has petitioned the NGT pleading that mine owners could be allowed to pay the royalty in instalments and not the lump sum amount. To its knowledge, most of the coal mine owners have not transported the extracted and assessed coal in view of the royalty issue.
Source: The Shillong Times
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