SHILLONG, SEPT 15: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has slammed the BJP-led NDA government for allegedly delaying in examining the state government’s proposal to invoke Para 12 A (b) of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India for resolving the NGT ban on coal mining.
The chief minister also warned the people of the state from “misinformation campaign” on the issue.
“What prevents the BJP government from further examining this or are they intentionally blocking it… that means they are conniving to deprive our people from the benefit of the provision of the Constitution,” Sangma said.
He was reacting to the BJP’s recent claim that it would resolve the ongoing NGT ban on coal mining in Meghalaya within a span of six to eight months if it is being elected to power in 2018.
Sangma said that the state government had taken up with the Government of India (GOI) to invoke Para 12 A (b) of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution in order that the provisions of the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act, 1973 and MMDR Act 1957 are exempted from their operations in respect to the schedule area of Meghalaya through a presidential notification.
He also said that even prior to bringing it up in the august house (where a resolution was passed in this regard), he had already taken up the matter with the Centre.
“The outcome of such exercise is that Centre has constituted a Committee headed by the union cabinet secretary to examine this proposal of the state government as per the provision of the Constitution of India,” he said.
The members of the Committee constituted by the Prime Minister Office (PMO) also include secretaries of ministries of coal, mines environment and chief secretary of Meghalaya.
According to him, number of meetings and deliberations has happened and numbers of recommendations from line ministries have gone which is the culmination of the sincere effective engagement of the state government.
Stating that numbers of developments has taken place, Sangma said that in 2014 when he met the then prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, he had explained exhaustively on the ultimate way forward.
“I have indicated that this is the only way forward and there is no other way…that you exempt the relevant sections of the Acts through presidential notification as per provision of the Para 12 A (b) of the Constitution. He (Manmohan) ordered that it should be examined further for necessary decision,” he said.
He said the constitutional provision provides in Para 12 A (b) of the Sixth Schedule that any law passed by parliament can be rescinded through presidential notification in respect of its operation in any part of schedule area of the state.
Stating that this particular provision is specific to Meghalaya, he however said, “Now if we are talking about restoring the right of the people which the state government is standing for, are they then trying to snatch away this right.”
“Are they (BJP) trying to clandestinely deprive the right even if you are delaying and depriving that is also deprivation? Now if this is intentional from the way they are saying that means do they mean to say that they are quietly influencing the ministries, the decision makers. We will have to now find an answer from them,” he added.
Recalling that the state had also come up with a state policy in 2012 to enable scientific mining even before the ban on coal mining, Sangma however said, “This was again misused to malign the party and the government saying that the mining policy will now alienate.”
Stating that the misinformation campaign is going on even now, he said, “I would like to warn our friend from this misinformation campaign because what does the law of the land provides… It provides that mining to any private parties in as far as coal mining is concerned is govern by MMDR Act 1957 and its amended form that coal mines has to be auction if it has to be given to private miners.”
Referring to a letter from the Centre in 1997, he said the letter indicated that in response to the state government taking the matter with the Government of India that “Government of India does not want to interfere in as far as traditional mining in the state of Meghalaya is concerned and as far as right over mining specific to coal.”
“The letter which has an advisory however stated that the government of Meghalaya may utilize the services of the Coal India or Meghalaya Mineral Development Corporation (MMDC) to facilitate scientific mining keeping in mind the need to do mining in conformity with the statutory laws in respect of environment, safety and health,” he said.
It may be mentioned here, the proposal of the state government to allow MMDC to take up mining activities was vehemently opposed by the coal miners’ associations of the state.
The chief minister however said pending the presidential notification for rescinding the operational parts of Coal Mines Nationalisation Act, 1973, mining can be proceed ahead by utilizing MMDC and not Coal India because the law provides.
“So we have said that MMDC can enter into an agreement with the land owners who also have the ownership over the mine, based on that right which has been extended to MMDC by a mutually terms and conditions formatted in the right kind of agreement then MMDC can be a miner vested with the responsibility of mining of the coal mine over your land then subsequently format such terms and conditions which is mutually acceptable between the land owners so that as per our tradition, the ownership over mine/land also provides to mine that part of benefits is passed on to our miners,” he said.
Stating that this offer is already available, Sangma said the terms and conditions is that MMDC will as per the agreement only have the right to operate the mine adding it is more like a outsourcing of MMDC to mine.
“After the mining activities is completed, the overall requirement as per statutory laws from environmental, safety and health perspective, the mine closure has to be done, reclaimation has to be done – after that the mine after having been reclaim the land will be returned to mine owners to the land owners – so where is the question of land alienation,” he stated.
“That is why am saying some people are thinking that our people can be misled all the time, fool all the time how does it help the state, how does it help the nation, stakeholders, mine owners – they are cheating the people, they are misleading the people,” he added.
By Our Reporter
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