Coal generates revenue for Meghalaya, but at what cost
It remains to be seen what the government aims to do to tackle the coal menace that has already claimed the lives of miners and destroyed ecological cover
Meghalaya is predominantly rich in tertiary coal deposits belonging to the Eocene age (36-56 million years ago). The estimate of coal reserves found in Meghalaya is about 576.48 million tonnes according to geologists. Meghalaya coal belongs to the sub-bituminous type with high sulphur content, thereby attracting an attractive price.
The coal seams are thin, ranging from 30 to 212 centimetres thick. The coal deposits are spread over 20 major and minor reserves, extending over a length of 400 km along the southern fringe of the Shillong plateau.
Coal mining in Meghalaya has been a major revenue contributor to the state exchequer, but on the other hand, has always been under the radar for its unscientific mining practices that have caused ecological damage and claimed hundreds of lives in accidents and unsafe mining practices.
Precious lives of undocumented labourers (men and boys), intricate cave systems, alluring water bodies, and exotic flora and fauna continue to be adversely affected by the rampant and illegal coal mining that is still underway, despite a ban by the National Green Tribunal close to a decade ago, prohibiting mining of the mineral and upheld by the Meghalaya high court as well as the apex court in subsequent judgements.
However, the effectiveness of the NGT’s ban on coal mining aimed at curbing environmental degradation is negligible as it is hampered by weak enforcement. On repeated occasions, the state government has initiated drives to shut down illegal coal mines, but the challenges of monitoring the vast and rugged terrain of the state have not helped.
Prevalence of the mineral stretches across the Khasi, Jaiñtia, and Garo hills of Meghalaya, practically the whole state. Coal is extracted using a primitive subsurface mining method known as rat-hole mining. Such “rat-hole” coal mines of Jaiñtia hills are an expansive network of hundreds of hand-dug box coal mines. The mines are typically 10 by 10 metres, and dozens of metres deep.
Toiling under extremely perilous work conditions with no security whatsoever, thousands flock to the coal belts of the state in search of daily bread, some coming in from as far as West Bengal, not to forget neighbouring Assam and Bangladesh.
“Yes, the work conditions are indeed tough, but this is the price we have to pay to survive. It’s risky but we don’t have a choice,” said Kancha, a coal miner from Nepal. Private mine owner S. Lyngdoh said he had heard of such illegal coal mines but feigned ignorance when prodded for more information. “We keep hearing of such mines, but you don’t see any in this area…. maybe because they are far away,” he said.
With no one to watch out for such labour, accidents occur on a routine basis in these mines often leading to death or crippling fatalities. Most such incidents remain unreported for fear of being prosecuted by the law, but on average, it would be unadventurous to assume that five to ten people die in such incidents.
With no proper data available on such deaths, in recent times, the worst tragedy took place on December 13, 2018, when 15 miners were trapped after an illegal “rat-hole” mine at Ksan in Meghalaya’s East Jaiñtia hills got flooded by water from the Lyteiñ river. While five miners managed to escape, rescue efforts for the remaining 10 continued till March 2, 2019. The coal mine was at a depth of around 370 feet (110 metres). The tunnel the miners were in flooded with water after they cut into an adjacent mine which was full of water from the nearby Lyteiñ river.
Service personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force undertook emergency operations shortly after the miners were trapped. After a request for assistance from the district administration, teams from Coal India, Kirloskar Brothers, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy joined the operation to rescue the miners.
After a petition was filed in the Supreme Court of India, the solicitor general, Tushar Mehta, informed the court that the rescue efforts were of additional difficulty because there were no blueprints for the 355-feet mine where the miners were trapped, and that water flowing into the mine from the nearby river was also making the operation more difficult, the Indian Army and Navy decided to cease operations on March 2, 2019. The operation was one of the longest efforts to rescue miners in India.
In the wake of the accident, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) fined the state government ₹100 crore for illegal coal mining on January 4, 2019.
During the hearing, the state government admitted that a large number of mines were operating illegally in Meghalaya.
“Deposit ₹100 crore imposed as fine on you by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for failing to curb illegal mining,” the Supreme Court ordered the Meghalaya government on July 3, 2019.
A bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and KM Joseph directed the state authorities to hand over illegally extracted coal to Coal India Limited, which would auction it and deposit the funds with the state government.
With the coal season set to commence, it remains to be seen what the government aims to do to tackle this menace, even as the rumour mill is flooded with unconfirmed reports of coal being illegally transported by a syndicate known as “High Level” protected by local authorities.
Meghalaya is predominantly rich in tertiary coal deposits belonging to the Eocene age (36-56 million years ago). The estimate of coal reserves found in Meghalaya is about 576.48 million tonnes according to geologists. Meghalaya coal belongs to the sub-bituminous type with high sulphur content, thereby attracting an attractive price.
The coal seams are thin, ranging from 30 to 212 centimetres thick. The coal deposits are spread over 20 major and minor reserves, extending over a length of 400 km along the southern fringe of the Shillong plateau.
Coal mining in Meghalaya has been a major revenue contributor to the state exchequer, but on the other hand, has always been under the radar for its unscientific mining practices that have caused ecological damage and claimed hundreds of lives in accidents and unsafe mining practices.
Precious lives of undocumented labourers (men and boys), intricate cave systems, alluring water bodies, and exotic flora and fauna continue to be adversely affected by the rampant and illegal coal mining that is still underway, despite a ban by the National Green Tribunal close to a decade ago, prohibiting mining of the mineral and upheld by the Meghalaya high court as well as the apex court in subsequent judgements.
However, the effectiveness of the NGT’s ban on coal mining aimed at curbing environmental degradation is negligible as it is hampered by weak enforcement. On repeated occasions, the state government has initiated drives to shut down illegal coal mines, but the challenges of monitoring the vast and rugged terrain of the state have not helped.
Prevalence of the mineral stretches across the Khasi, Jaiñtia, and Garo hills of Meghalaya, practically the whole state. Coal is extracted using a primitive subsurface mining method known as rat-hole mining. Such “rat-hole” coal mines of Jaiñtia hills are an expansive network of hundreds of hand-dug box coal mines. The mines are typically 10 by 10 metres, and dozens of metres deep.
Toiling under extremely perilous work conditions with no security whatsoever, thousands flock to the coal belts of the state in search of daily bread, some coming in from as far as West Bengal, not to forget neighbouring Assam and Bangladesh.
“Yes, the work conditions are indeed tough, but this is the price we have to pay to survive. It’s risky but we don’t have a choice,” said Kancha, a coal miner from Nepal. Private mine owner S. Lyngdoh said he had heard of such illegal coal mines but feigned ignorance when prodded for more information. “We keep hearing of such mines, but you don’t see any in this area…. maybe because they are far away,” he said.
With no one to watch out for such labour, accidents occur on a routine basis in these mines often leading to death or crippling fatalities. Most such incidents remain unreported for fear of being prosecuted by the law, but on average, it would be unadventurous to assume that five to ten people die in such incidents.
With no proper data available on such deaths, in recent times, the worst tragedy took place on December 13, 2018, when 15 miners were trapped after an illegal “rat-hole” mine at Ksan in Meghalaya’s East Jaiñtia hills got flooded by water from the Lyteiñ river. While five miners managed to escape, rescue efforts for the remaining 10 continued till March 2, 2019. The coal mine was at a depth of around 370 feet (110 metres). The tunnel the miners were in flooded with water after they cut into an adjacent mine which was full of water from the nearby Lyteiñ river.
Service personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force undertook emergency operations shortly after the miners were trapped. After a request for assistance from the district administration, teams from Coal India, Kirloskar Brothers, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy joined the operation to rescue the miners.
After a petition was filed in the Supreme Court of India, the solicitor general, Tushar Mehta, informed the court that the rescue efforts were of additional difficulty because there were no blueprints for the 355-feet mine where the miners were trapped, and that water flowing into the mine from the nearby river was also making the operation more difficult, the Indian Army and Navy decided to cease operations on March 2, 2019. The operation was one of the longest efforts to rescue miners in India.
In the wake of the accident, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) fined the state government ₹100 crore for illegal coal mining on January 4, 2019.
During the hearing, the state government admitted that a large number of mines were operating illegally in Meghalaya.
“Deposit ₹100 crore imposed as fine on you by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for failing to curb illegal mining,” the Supreme Court ordered the Meghalaya government on July 3, 2019.
A bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and KM Joseph directed the state authorities to hand over illegally extracted coal to Coal India Limited, which would auction it and deposit the funds with the state government.
With the coal season set to commence, it remains to be seen what the government aims to do to tackle this menace, even as the rumour mill is flooded with unconfirmed reports of coal being illegally transported by a syndicate known as “High Level” protected by local authorities.
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