SHILLONG, MAY 11: Former cabinet minister and UDP legislator from Khliehriat Kyrmen Shylla on Monday said development in East Jaintia Hills is welcome, but stressed that the region’s livelihood depends on coal and called for scientific underground mining, saying open-cast methods are not feasible due to deep coal seams.
“Double engine, triple engine, I have no comment on this, because I am not a part of the government or party,” Shylla said.
“But yes, no doubt we appreciate the development they have brought to wherever they have the chance to serve in the state. We have seen a lot of change.”
He also praised the NPP-led state government.
“Here also I appreciate my government led by NPP under the leadership of our Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma. We have seen a lot of change, especially when it comes to development,” he said.
However, Shylla underlined the importance of coal to the local economy. “In East Jaintia Hills, we appreciate development but more than that we need our livelihood. Our livelihood stands on coal,” he said.
“If there is a time that a party, any party, who could promise and deliver, I believe my people will stand with that.”
“I know my people know what exactly needs to be done. If somebody does good to us, we repay them back with good things,” he added.
On scientific mining, the legislator said it should not be limited to open-cast operations. “Scientific doesn’t mean only open cast. It even means underground mining,” he said.
“The technology we have used all these days, though not 100 percent scientific, has had some science introduced. We just need to bring it into a proper way of mining and bring safety measures for miners.”
“When you do something to protect the livelihood, to protect the lives of the miners and to extract coal in a proper way and help the environment, that is scientific. It need not be only through open cast. Even underground mining can be done scientifically,” Shylla said.
He pointed out that open-cast mining is unviable in the district. “Open cast is quite difficult because the seam is quite deep down. When the depth is too high it is next to impossible,” he said.
“If I’m not mistaken, if within 10 meters, it’s still feasible for open cast. But here it is more than 10 meters, sometimes even 100 meters. So, this is not possible to do open-cast mining in East Jaintia Hills.” Shylla said scientific mining has begun in some parts of the district.
“Yes, it has already started. Few licenses have been given for open-cast mining. This has started in a few portions in some blocks in East Jaintia Hills, but it’s quite difficult with lots of challenges for the owner,” he said.
“Those who have got licenses know the reality of it. And as of now we have not seen that this contributes to the people,” he added.
He urged the government to permit underground mining as an alternative. “That’s why we request the government and the authorities to give us a different way of mining,” Shylla said.
“Previously what we call rat-hole mining, when we look into different Acts, a few changes need to be done. The same way of mining, if it can be introduced, we can call it underground mining.”
“We used to talk about tunnel mining. Even that has a different term. For us the most feasible mining is underground,” he said.
“We need experts to give us suggestions so that we can prepare what needs to be done and the government will give us the rights to go ahead with underground mining.”
Responding to questions on whether the failure to lift the coal mining ban would cause anti-incumbency, Shylla said the government had kept its word. “What the government promised, they have delivered. Why I say this is because a few persons got licenses for open-cast mining,” he said.
“But after they got the license, they realized it is not feasible. The government said they will do the needful and have given licenses to a few, and some applicants’ paperwork is in process.”
By Our Reporter
