ASSAM-MEGHALAYA BOUNDARY ROW
A REPORTER
SHILLONG,: The HITO (Hynñiewtrep Integrated Territorial Organization) has sought the intervention of India Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the urgent need for PMO to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) agency to take action against the alleged transportation of illegal coal by the coal mafias which are well connected and have supposedly compromised all authorities including the Meghalaya Police.
In this connection, the organisation has also submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister on this subject matter on Thursday.
''We appeal to your urgent intervention to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) agency to take immediate action against the transportation of illegal coal by the coal mafias which are well connected and have supposedly compromised all authorities including the Meghalaya and Assam Police,'' said HITO president Donbok Dkhar.
He pointed out that since the NGT ban of rat-hole mining in 2014 there have been thousands of tons of coal which has been illegally transported due to the lack of action in amending and exempting the Coal Mines Nationalization Act-1973, Forest Conservation Act-1980, from Meghalaya as it conflicts with the Instrument of Accession and Annexed Agreement agreed between the Government of India and the twenty-five Khasi States where land and its resources belong to the private and community landowners.
''To, resolve this legislative conflict the past and present State Governments since last seven years have passed an official resolution (on coal in 2015-2017-2018, on Forest April 13, 2000, on Khasi Language 27 Nov 2018) in the Meghalaya Assembly urging Center to address the issues,'' added Dkhar.
He said regretfully, no legislative resolution has happened till today (16 December 2021), and this delay especially on coal mining has resulted in thousands of tons of coal being illegally extracted and transported in the open from Meghalaya to Assam and Bangladesh resulting in the loss of huge revenue to the tune of hundreds of crores.
''It is public knowledge today that illegal extraction and transportation has been moving in full public view openly since the year 2014 with several overloaded illegal coal trucks overturning from time to time making a mockery of the law enforcing agencies,'' he said.
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