The Meghalaya High Court on Thursday summoned the East Jaintia Hills deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police in connection with the deaths of 18 workers in a blast at an illegal coal mine, reported The Shillong Times.
Taking suo moto cognisance of the matter, a division bench of Justices Hamarsan Sing Thangkhiew and Wanlura Diengdoh also ordered the arrest of the mine’s owner and operator, according to Highland Post.
The blast occurred on Thursday morning at Mynsyngat, Thangsko. The site is located about 40 km from the district headquarters.
The High Court said that it was “not understood as to how illegal coal mining is continuing in this area in spite of the reported loss of life of one person” on January 14.
The bench directed East Jaintia Hills Deputy Commissioner Shivansh Awasthi and Superintendent of Police Vikash Kumar to appear before it on February 9.
It also asked the authorities to seize all incriminating materials, reported The Shillong Times.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma had earlier said that an inquiry had been ordered into the blast and promised legal action.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the families of those who died. The injured will be given Rs 50,000.
Meanwhile, the Voice of the People Party blamed the National People’s Party government in Meghalaya and the Union government for the death of the workers and demanded that the Cabinet minister concerned should resign, reported The Shillong Times.
“Rampant illegal coal mining continues in many parts of Meghalaya despite the National Green Tribunal ban, and numerous fatal incidents in remote areas go unreported,” party MP from Shillong Ricky Andrew J Syngkon was quoted as saying.
He added that the Pollution Control Board, which is responsible for monitoring such activities, should also be held responsible.
The Meghalaya Pradesh Mahila Congress alleged that the workers died due to “criminal negligence”.
In 2014, the National Green Tribunal imposed a ban on rat-hole mining of coal in Meghalaya on the grounds that it was unsafe and unscientific. The rathole technique entails digging small vertical pits to reach the mineral, often making it dangerous for miners.
The tribunal, however, allowed for transportation of already-mined coal till 2017. The Supreme Court has since given more concessions to the state’s coal miners, allowing for periodic extensions of the transportation deadline.
However, critics believe that the concessions left the mining ban incomplete, allowing miners to illegally extract and ferry freshly mined coal under the guise of transporting old coal.
A 2022 report prepared by a court-appointed panel confirmed the concerns after it found that the state had overstated the quantity of coal extracted before the ban by 13 lakh metric tonnes.
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