SHILLONG, JUN 3: Meghalaya has received a “positive response” from the Centre on its request to allow smaller coal mines to operate, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said Wednesday, while cautioning that details would be shared only after final clearance.
“We are getting positive response but I would refrain from giving details right now until and unless we have the final clearance from the government,” Sangma said, referring to ongoing talks with the Government of India to permit mines below the current 100-hectare threshold.
The Chief Minister framed the issue as one of striking a balance between livelihoods, safety, and the environment. “There is no right answer to this. It will always be a challenge and we are working with constraints and with difficulties,” he said.
“While coal mining is a livelihood aspect which is very important… yet we have to at the same time balance the safety of the miners and the impact on the environment,” he added.
“In the process, there will never be a kind of a perfect system… there will always be challenges ahead.” Sangma said scientific mining has already begun in the state under central approvals.
“As of now, the larger mines, the 100 hectares mines are being permitted by government of India and four mines as I said permissions have been given out of which three mines are already active.”
“Large quantity of coal from this scientifically mined coal have already started being exported outside the state. So, the process has started but we have a long way to go,” he said.
The Chief Minister identified small miners as the state’s main concern.
“Our concerns are actually the small miners, who are not having the kind of requisite areas that is required, so those challenges are in the process, we are trying to address them by seeking permission from government of India where smaller mines can be given permission.”
On recent deaths linked to abandoned mines, Sangma highlighted the scale of legacy pits across Meghalaya. “There are more than 21,000 abandoned mines just in one district and if you put altogether in the state, there may be closed to about 25000 mines,” he said.
“It is almost next to be physically impossible for us to really go into all these aspects and these mines have been there for centuries not only decades,” he added. Sangma reiterated that the government’s approach hinges on balancing competing priorities.
“I stress on the word balance because that is really what is important. While we have to look at livelihood, we have to ensure that we continue to take care of our people, we need to also take care of the lives and the safety of the miners.”
“We are working very closely with everyone including government of India and… we are hopeful that slow and steadily things will reach to a point where we are able to really balance out things in a much better and more perfect manner,” he said.
Also Read: High time to approach Centre as scientific mining fails in Meghalaya’s Jaintia region: Wailad
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