Guwahati: The High Court came down heavily on the Meghalaya government over illegal coal mining and smuggling activities in the coke industry. The court expressed displeasure over the State government's failure to take action against illegal coal mining and the supply of coal to coke industries.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Banerjee as well as comprising Justices HS Thangkhiew and W Diengdo in their observations on the issue said that the State government was in the habit of keeping these issues aside. "When it comes to curbing such illegal activities, there seems to be little action."
The bench made these observations while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The petitioner in the application filed before the court made the Meghalaya police a party in the case. The petitioner alleged that some of the police officers in the Shalang area in particular were aiding illegal transportation of smuggled coal to coke industries. The petitioner sought to know the identity of the person behind these illegal activities. However, the Meghalaya government appealed to the court that it should stay the matter as there was another case related to the "illegal transportation of coal" which needed an urgent hearing.
While hearing the case, the bench observed that the State government was adopting a tactical move to avoid the issue. In a similar case, the court had recently expressed serious concern over the state government's leniency to contain the illegal smuggling of coal. The court in its observation said that "it was clear that the state government was hand in glove with the mafia in illegal mining of coal and its transportation."
