SC asks Meghalaya to deposit Rs 100 crore fine for illegal coal mining
New Delhi, July 03: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Meghalaya government to deposit the Rs 100 crore fine imposed on it by the NGT for failing to curb illegal coal mining with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
A bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and K M Joseph directed the state administration to hand over the illegally extracted coal to Coal India Limited (CIL) which will auction it and deposit the funds with the state government.
The bench also allowed the mining operation to go on in the state on the privately and community owned land subject to the permissions from the concerned authorities.
The
National
Green
Tribunal
had
fined
the
Meghalaya
government
on
January
4.
During
the
hearing,
the
state
government
had
admitted
that
a
large
number
of
mines
were
operating
illegally
in
the
northeastern
state.
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A total of 15 miners were trapped on December 13 last year in an illegal coal mine at Ksan in East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, about 3.7 km deep inside a forest, when water from the nearby Lytein river gushed into it.
Only two bodies have been recovered from the mine so far.
The apex court had earlier refused to allow miners to transport extracted coal lying at various sites in Meghalaya.