After Meghalaya HC rap, minister says 'rain may have washed away 4000 tonnes of missing coal'

A High Court bench led by Justice HS Thangkhiew, directed the state authorities to identify individuals and officials responsible for allowing the illegal transport of coal that had already been flagged for action.

Amid intense scrutiny over the “disappearance" of nearly 4,000 metric tonnes of coal from depots in Rajaju and Diengngan villages in South West Khasi Hills district, Meghalaya Cabinet Minister Kyrmen Shylla suggested that monsoon rainwater might have washed the coal downstream into neighbouring Assam and Bangladesh.

The Meghalaya High Court has pulled up the state government after nearly 4,000 metric tonnes (MT) of illegally mined coal ‘disappeared’ from two coal depots in Rajaju and Diengngan villages both in Ranikor Block of South West Khasi Hills district, PTI reported. The missing stock had earlier been officially surveyed and recorded, raising serious concerns about enforcement and accountability.

A High Court bench led by Justice HS Thangkhiew, directed the state authorities to identify individuals and officials responsible for allowing the illegal transport of coal that had already been flagged for action.

Addressing reporters in Shillong on Monday, Minister Shylla said, “I am not trying to justify, but we need to remind ourselves that Meghalaya has one of the highest rainfall rates in the country. So due to this high and heavy rainfall, anything can happen."

“There is an allegation that because of the rains in Meghalaya, floods happened in Assam, and from East Jaintia Hills, rainwater goes to Bangladesh. You never know, it could be because of the rains the coal got carried away."

The revelation comes from the 31st interim report submitted by the Justice BP Katakey Committee, which is monitoring coal mining and transportation issues in the state.

The report states that during ground verification, only 2.5 MT of coal was found at Diengngan against the 1,839.03 MT earlier recorded by the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority , while at Rajaju, just 8 MT remained out of the 2,121.62 MT recorded.

The court observed that this illegal coal was detected much earlier, and yet, "unidentified persons" managed to lift and transport the coal, raising serious questions about enforcement on the ground.