Shillong, April 12: Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on Wednesday said the state police has been asked to ensure illegal transportation of coal is totally stopped in the state.

“Whoever is carrying illegal coal, they will be seized and then they will be charge sheeted,” Tynsong told reporters when responding to a query on the matter.

On Tuesday, the Meghalaya High Court had said the failure to check overloaded vehicles points to the state government being a party to the illegal mining and transportation of the coal in flagrant disregard of orders passed by the Supreme Court.

Hearing a PIL, the division bench of the High Court said, “There are several other matters pertaining to the illegal transportation of coal, the failure on the part of the State government to check overloaded vehicles and the like: all of which point to the State government being a party to the illegal mining and transportation of the coal in flagrant disregard of orders passed by the Supreme Court, no less.”

The PIL was filed by one Champer M. Sangma.

It said that the malaise has not been arrested and it has prompted the Court, in the suo motu proceedings, to ascertain whether some Central Armed Police Forces may be engaged to undertake the checking activities.

“There may not be any illegal mining if there is no transportation of such coal and illegal transportation can be checked by police on roads and easily arrested if there was the right intent on the part of the State,” the Court said.

The Court said it appears that several persons have sought to take advantage of the fact that the previously illegally mined coal had been dumped in many places with directions issued by the Supreme Court for its disposal.

It added that till such time that orders were made in the suo motu proceedings instituted in the year 2022, the State had taken no steps to ensure that the previously illegally mined coal till the year 2016 was disposed of.