Shillong, Mar 2 (PTI) Meghalaya High Court on Wednesday ordered an enquiry into the alleged illegal mining and transportation of coal in the state and directed that the matter be placed before the full bench of the court on March 7.

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The order was passed by a division bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee while hearing a PIL on the issue.

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“In view of Article 144 of the Constitution of India and the obligation of all to aid in the implementation of the orders of the Supreme Court and the apparent failure of the state in such regard as would be apparent from the newspaper reports on the basis of which cognizance was taken, an inquiry is called for,” the order said.

It said the matter is of importance and great seriousness as orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) as approved by the Supreme Court did not appear to have been carried out.

It is evident that certain time-bound recommendations were made by a committee constituted by the NGT and there is copious reference to such recommendations in the Supreme Court order of July 3, 2019. Several other recommendations were subsequently given to be implemented by the NGT, but it did not appear that any action has been taken in such a regard, the division bench of the HC said.

“The aspect that engages the attention of this Court is the illegal mining that appears to have resurfaced and is rampant in large areas of the state, without any permission or license or sanction being obtained therefore notwithstanding the law as declared in the Supreme Court judgment of July 3, 2019,” the bench stated in its order.

The Supreme Court had passed an order allowing coal mining operation in the state but subject to compliance with provisions of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 and permission granted by the landowners.

It had directed the Meghalaya government to pay penalty of Rs 100 crore as imposed by National Green Tribunal (NGT). The government was direced to pay the fine with money already collected from illegal miners and transporters of illegally-mined coal as penalties.

On February 23 this year, the HC while taking cognizance of reports and a complaint filed against certain persons, including the police, alleging widespread illegal mining of coal within the clan lands, had threatened to appoint a special investigation team to probe it.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)