Shillong: The Meghalaya government has constituted a three-member judicial commission, headed by retired High Court judge Justice R.S. Chauhan, to investigate the deadly blast at an illegal coal mine in East Jaintia Hills district that claimed 31 lives on February 5.
According to a government notification issued on February 14, the panel has been set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 and has been mandated to conduct a comprehensive probe into the explosion at the illegal mine located in the remote Thangsko area of Mynsngat village.
The commission will be responsible for fixing accountability, identifying lapses by authorities, and determining whether acts of omission or negligence contributed to the disaster.
Justice Chauhan, a former Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court and the Telangana High Court, will be joined on the panel by retired IPS officer H. Nongpluh and former IAS officer P.S. Dkhar.
The terms of reference also require the commission to examine broader structural issues, including the root causes of illegal coal mining in Meghalaya, the working and living conditions of labourers dependent on the sector, and the role of possible constitutional exemptions to central mining laws.
The panel has further been tasked with recommending remedial measures, administrative reforms and financial rehabilitation schemes, particularly for those affected by the National Green Tribunal’s 2014 ban on coal mining in the state.
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The notification states that the commission will submit its report, along with findings and recommendations, to the state government within six months from the date of its constitution.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had announced the judicial inquiry on February 9, days after the tragic incident triggered widespread public outrage and demands for accountability.
Meanwhile, the state government has also carried out a key administrative reshuffle in the aftermath of the blast.
East Jaintia Hills Superintendent of Police Vikash Kumar has been transferred and posted as head of the Anti-Narcotics Task Force, while ANTF chief P.K. Rasgania has been appointed as the new SP of East Jaintia Hills district, according to a separate notification.
As Report
Mentioned in The Hindu
