Shillong, Feb 11: The Single Member Committee constituted by the Meghalaya High Court has recommended that auction of reassessed/re-verified inventoried coal be completed by March 31.
In the twentieth interim report, Justice (Retd) BP Katakey said, “The Committee recommends auction of entire available reassessed /re-verified inventoried coal by the CIL by 31/03/2024 as the earlier timeline set has not been achieved due to non transportation of entire such coal from pithead to the designated depots.”
“It is recommended that immediate steps for filing the appropriate applications before the appropriate court of law for auction of the seized coal need to be taken, so that entire seized coal could be sold in auction urgently,” he said.
The report also said that the committee has recommended that the final timeline for transportation of such coal to the designated depot till February 29, 2024 be set and thereafter such left out coal, if still available and not meanwhile illegally sold and illegally transported be seized by the authority and transported to the designated depot within 1 month thereafter for auction by the CIL, as the coal owners stated to have not shown interest in transportation of the remaining re-assessed/re-verified inventoried coal from pithead to the designated depots in East Jaintia hills District, despite issuance of 3 public notices setting the deadline for transportation, where maximum quantity of such coal remained to be transported.
It was also recommended that the sale proceeds of such seized coal be entirely deposited by owners for their reluctance to Govt. fund after payment to CIL for the auction and to the MEPRF. A public notice in that respect in local languages should also be issued and circulated widely for information of all concerned.
“Similar measures may also be taken in respect of the other 3 districts if the transportation of the remaining re-assessed/reverified inventoried coal is not completed by 29/02/2024,” it added.
Further, the committee also recommended drone survey and videography of the 4 districts, after completion of transportation of re-assessed/re-verified inventoried coal to the designated depots, so as to find out the availability of coal in such districts, which if found may be seized immediately under the provisions of the MMDR Act 1957 and put to sale and the sale proceed be deposited to the State fund after payment towards MEPRF.
The Committee also recommended issuance of direction to the Superintendent of Police, East Jaintia Hills District for ensuring early completion of the investigation into the coal found beside Don-Bosco College, Byndihati ( Khliehriat PS Case No 87(11)2023) so that if anyone is found guilty for commission of the offence, he can be dealt with under the law urgently.
Meanwhile, the committee recommended submission of a report by the Deputy Commissioner, East Jaintia Hills District about the final action taken on the weighbridge setup behind the Don-Bosco College, Byndihati, within a fortnight.
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