SHILLONG, JUL 7: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday urged the Centre to delegate powers to the state for granting coal mining approvals, with Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy suggesting the constitution of a committee to examine the proposal.
In a meeting in New Delhi, the Chief Minister sought delegation of powers under Section 26 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 to grant prior approval and approve mining plans for coal in the state.
He was accompanied by Santa Mary Shylla, MLA of Sutnga Saipung in East Jaintia Hills.
At the close of the meeting, the Union Minister suggested that a committee be constituted to examine the matter.
The Chief Minister welcomed the suggestion, and a committee is expected to be constituted shortly for the purpose.
Making a case for Meghalaya, Sangma said the state’s situation is unique as it is a Sixth Schedule state where land and minerals belong to individuals, clans or communities, not to the state.
He cited the 2019 Supreme Court judgment which affirmed tribal ownership of both land and minerals, while requiring compliance with the MMDR Act.
“The step would allow thousands of small tribal coal-holders to obtain lawful mineral concessions and the necessary approvals within the State itself,” the Chief Minister told the Union Minister.
He argued that the national mining model does not fit Meghalaya’s ground reality.
The state’s coal seams are thin and scattered, and held in small family and clan parcels rather than in large blocks.
Sangma also flagged the impact of the 2014 National Green Tribunal ban on rat-hole mining, which he said left many families without livelihood and caused the state to lose substantial revenue from royalty, cess and taxes.
He pointed to the 2021 SOP which fixed a minimum concession area of 100 hectares.
“It has in practice excluded most genuine holders, since such large continuous areas rarely exist in the State and are almost never held by a single owner,” he said.
Traveling repeatedly to Delhi and to the Indian Bureau of Mines office in Kolkata was also “neither practical nor affordable” for small holders, he added.
Recalling that the Ministry of Coal had “in principle” agreed to Meghalaya’s request for relief as far back as 2015, the Chief Minister submitted a formal representation seeking notifications under Section 26, along with connected powers under the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 and the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 2017.
Concluding the meeting, Sangma said he hoped the proposed committee would pave the way for “thousands of families in the State to earn a lawful and dignified livelihood from their own mineral resources, under proper regulation and the close oversight of the State.”
