SHILLONG, JULY 30: With the Meghalaya Government pushing for scientific coal mining, small-time coal miners in the state are facing significant challenges. The Meghalaya State Coordination Committee of the Coal Owners, Miners, Exporters, Transporters, and Dealers Forum (MSCCCOETDF) has raised concerns over the Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) set by the state government, which requires a minimum of 100 hectares of land to obtain a coal mining lease. This requirement effectively excludes the vast majority of small-time coal miners in Meghalaya, who make up 95% of the mining community, leaving only the 5% of large miners capable of meeting this criterion.
Regeenal Shylla, member of Meghalaya State Coordination Committee of the Coal Owners, Miners, Exporters, Transporters and Dealers Forum said “In Meghalaya there are 95 percent is a small time coal miners and only 5 percent is the big coal miners who can effort to have 100 hac of land to get mining lease.”
The SOP had indicated that grant of prospecting license and/or mining lease for coal in the state of Meghalaya shall be for an area not less than 100 hectares.
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya State Coordination Committee of the Coal Owners, Miners, Exporters, Transporters and Dealers Forum (MSCCCOETDF) has decided to hold series of public meetings against the alleged illegal standard operating procedure (SOP) for granting prospecting license and or mining lease for coal in the state.
Speaking to Mediapersons on Tuesday, executive member of the forum Reginald Shylla said, “The decision was taken after the state government failed to address the issue despite a memorandum being submitted before the Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on July 2.”
He said that the forum would be holding series of public meetings in different coal rich districts of the state, to sensitize people about the SOP issued by the government of Meghalaya on March 5, 2021 for being contrary to the Mining and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and the same notification (SOP) is arbitrary exercised by the state of Meghalaya beyond the principle of delegated legislation.
“However, this SOP has deprived the local indigenous people who have less than 100 hectares which disqualify them for making an application before the concerned authorities for applying prospecting license,” Shylla said. He said, “It is pertinent to state that the stated SOP is favourable/benefits to those business tycoons, depriving the persons who have less than 100 hectares and in the event having no resort other than to sell the land to those business persons, which is basically n exploitation of the people’s land.”
He also pointed out that the Mineral Concession Rules, 2016 with amendments dated July 11, 2017, January 29, 2018, December 20, 2018, January 24, 2019, September 21, 2020 and January 16, 2021, no such provisions of minimum area of 100 hectares could be found to be authorized for cost prospecting license and/or mining lease.
Shylla informed that the Forum would also approach the three MPs – Tura MP Saleng A Sangma and Shillong MP Ricky AJ Syngkon and lone Rajya Sabha MP Dr WR Kharlukhi – for their immediate intervention to take up the issue in the parliament and with the Ministry of Coal to find out ways and means to address the grievances faced by the people of the state in respect of coal.
He also informed that the Forum had also challenged the SOP before the Meghalaya High Court.
“This is because as per the MMDR Act 1957 it states that minimum area for mining lease should be not less than 4 hectares that means we can apply for prospecting license so the question now arises as to from which provisions of law, the state government has set an area of minimum 100 hectares.
This shows the government wants to bulldoze the livelihood of people and trample upon rights of the people to benefit a few business tycoons,” Shylla said.