Shillong: The Meghalaya government has told the High Court that it has initiated a fresh inspection of coal dump sites in two South West Khasi Hills villages, following the unexplained disappearance of nearly 4,000 metric tonnes of illegally mined coal.
The missing coal had been detected in an aerial survey but could not be accounted for during ground verification.
A final report is expected within a month, the state government said in an affidavit on Monday.
The move follows a probe by the district deputy commissioner, in compliance with a July 24 High Court directive linked to a 2022 public interest litigation.
A three-member committee of senior district officials had earlier investigated the discrepancy, noting that it was “highly improbable” for such a large quantity of coal to vanish without detection.
The committee attributed the gap to the challenging terrain, environmental conditions, and incomplete information rather than negligence.
According to the Meghalaya Basin Development Agency (MBDA), the aerial survey recorded 2,121.62 MT of coal in Diengngan village and 1,839.03 MT in Rajaju village.
Ground verification, however, found only 2.5 MT and 8 MT, respectively.
The committee cited the absence of geotagged coordinates as a likely reason for the oversight and recommended a re-inspection using precise GPS data provided by MBDA.
The panel also highlighted ongoing risks of cross-border smuggling, calling for strengthened surveillance, stricter enforcement, and coordinated inter-agency action.
During an August 11 review meeting, the deputy commissioner clarified that earlier figures were based on incomplete data and that updated verification would be carried out promptly.
MBDA and the Department of Mining and Geology have been directed to fully cooperate with the district administration.
The controversy drew widespread attention after former excise minister Kyrmen Shylla sparked outrage by joking that monsoon rains may have washed the missing coal into neighbouring Bangladesh.
Critics condemned the remark as “absurd” and “irresponsible,” accusing the former minister of trivializing a serious governance lapse.
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The incident underscores a longstanding problem in Meghalaya, where the National Green Tribunal banned unscientific and unsafe coal mining, particularly rat-hole mining, in 2014.
Despite court-monitored exceptions, multiple investigations, including High Court-appointed panels, have revealed continued illegal mining and transport in the state.
In November 2023, a High Court panel confirmed that rat-hole mining persists in violation of the NGT ban.
The Meghalaya High Court continues to monitor the situation closely, aiming to enforce environmental laws and improve transparency and accountability in the state’s coal mining operations.
