Over 2000 people under the banner of Satra Mukti Sangram Samity (SMSS) on Thursday staged a sit-in-protest in Tinsukia's Margherita against Coal India Limited (CIL) for forcefully designating residential areas as coal dumping ground.
The Meghalaya Mineral Land Owners Lease Holders and Exporters Forum has expressed its full support for the upcoming public hearing to discuss the resumption of scientific coal mining in the state.
The Meghalaya State Coordination Committee of the Coal Owners, Miners, Exporters, Transporters and Dealers Forum (MSCCCOETDF) has decided to hold series of public meetings to pressurize the state government to immediately scrap the alleged “illegal” standard operating procedure (SOP) for granting prospecting license and mining lease for coal in the state.
The Meghalaya High Court on Wednesday summoned the Superintendent of Police (SP) East Jaintia Hills on December 11 in regards to the ongoing illegal mining of coal in the district.
He said the state have been engaged in this form of mining for last 200 years and livelihood is based around that and unless and until alternate forms of livelihood don’t come up people will keep going back to those activities.
