SHILLONG, JAN 11: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday informed that scientific mining of coal will start very soon in Meghalaya.
“And now the scientific mining process and the applications for the mining plan to be approved are already at a very advanced stage with the Centre government,” he told reporters.
On the leader of opposition’s allegation that the MDA government does not want to start legal mining in the state, Conrad said Mukul was forgetting that it was during his time as chief minister that mining of coal was banned adding “We don’t know what he did for five years (on the issue).”
Stating that it was his government which appealed before the Supreme Court against the NGT coal ban, he said, “We (MDA) got the ban lifted. And after the ban has been lifted we have applied for 18 licenses in terms of the prospecting licenses that have been given and now the mining plans of them are being submitted and we hope that it will move forward.”
Slamming the opposition for failing to speak the fact, the CM said, “They are forgetting that it was during their time that the ban on coal was done but it was this government that finally lifted the ban through Supreme Court ruling.”
On the AITC complaint against NPP for failing to file its election expenditure, the NPP leader said they have filed a court case but the court had rejected their plea.
No confirmation yet on mine tragedy:
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday said the government is yet to receive any kind of confirmation on an alleged mine tragedy killing three persons in East Jaintia Hills district.
“We have not received any kind of confirmation or confirmed information on this aspect. We have heard this from some areas but there is no confirmed report yet,” Sangma told reporters.
Cause of trio’s deaths yet to be ascertain:
East Jaintia Hills district police chief Jagpal Singh Dhanoa said that three deaths have been confirmed in two villages – Musniang rim and Musniang – but the cause of deaths is still being ascertained.
When asked if the bodies were recovered from the coal mine, Dhanoa said, “We don’t know the PO (place of occurrence). We can’t even confirm whether they died in the mining incident.”
He said that three local boys died in two adjoining villages on January 9 and were buried.
“We are recording statements and if need be we will have to get PM (post mortem) done by exhuming,” he said.
The SP informed that further investigation is on to record statements of family and relatives.
“Hopefully family and relatives will give the true statements so that investigation can proceed.
Once it is established that they all died in one incident we will shift our focus to the place of occurrence and ownership of the mine,” he said.
By Our Reporter
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