Meghalaya govt serious about checking illegal transportation of charcoal: CM Sangma

Guwahati: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma stated in the legislature on March 22 that the state government is committed to stopping the illegal transportation of charcoal in the region.

The Meghalaya Charcoal (Control of Production, Storage, Trade, and Transport) Rules, 2008 have been modified as a result, he claimed, and this took place in 2019.

According to the new regulations, makers and stockists of charcoal must submit an application for registration to the relevant Divisional Forest Officer, and they can renew their registration after a year with the previous consent of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests.

Sangma was responding to a motion to draw attention made by MLA Mayralborn Syiem of the United Democratic Party, who cited a media story about the forest department’s inability to stop the illegal transportation of charcoal in the northeastern state.

95 metric tonnes of charcoal have been confiscated in the last five years, according to the chief minister, and 23 cases have been filed for its illegitimate production, transportation, and storage, according to Sangma.

One of the major markets for charcoal is ferroalloys.

In addition to the 23 instances that were registered in the Ri-Bhoi and West Khasi Hills districts over the last five years, a total of Rs 2.60 lakh was realized as compounding fees, according to Sangma.

But he added that neither Reserved Forests nor Protected Forests in the two districts had any evidence of illegal charcoal manufacturing.

The Central Industrial Security Force will be deployed in ten companies by the Meghalaya High Court to monitor the illegal coal traffic in the state.

The bench, which was hearing a suo motu PIL about illegal coal mining in the state and was made up of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee, Justices HS Thangkhiew, and W Diengdoh, stated that the government’s plan is “grandiose” in that it seeks to deploy 100 companies of the CRPF in the eastern range and 60 companies in the western range. One business has 135 employees.

The CRPF is controlled by the state police, whereas the CISF can operate independently, so the judge ruled that using 10 CISF companies in place of the CRPF was fair and reasonable.