New Delhi, July 7: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma met Union Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy here today, pressing the Centre to delegate to the State the authority to grant prior approvals and clear mining plans for coal under Section 26 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
The Chief Minister argued that such delegation would spare thousands of small tribal coal-holders the burden of seeking mineral concessions and clearances from outside the State, allowing the entire process to be completed within Meghalaya itself.
Sangma was accompanied by Santa Mary Shylla, MLA from Sutnga Saipung in East Jaintia Hills.
A case for Meghalaya’s uniqueness
During the meeting, the Chief Minister laid out why Meghalaya’s coal sector cannot be governed by rules designed for the rest of the country. Being a Sixth Schedule State, he noted, land and the minerals beneath it belong not to the government but to individuals, clans and communities — a position the Supreme Court upheld in 2019 when it ruled that tribal owners hold both the land and its minerals, subject to compliance with the MMDR Act.
He further explained that Meghalaya’s coal seams are thin and scattered, resulting in ownership spread across small family and clan holdings rather than the large, contiguous blocks typical elsewhere in India. This, he said, makes the standard national regulatory model ill-suited to the State’s realities.
Livelihoods lost, Revenue foregone
The Chief Minister recalled that the National Green Tribunal’s 2014 ban on rat-hole mining had left a large number of families who depended on small-scale coal extraction without work, while the State exchequer had also suffered a significant loss of royalty, cess and tax revenue.
He was particularly critical of the 100-hectare minimum concession area mandated under the 2021 Standard Operating Procedure, framed on the Ministry’s advice, saying it had effectively shut out most genuine coal-holders. Such vast, unified tracts, he pointed out, are rarely found in Meghalaya and are almost never owned by a single individual. He also flagged the impracticality of small holders having to make repeated trips to Delhi and to the Indian Bureau of Mines office in Kolkata merely to secure approvals for modest deposits.
A long-pending demand
Sangma reminded the Union Minister that the Ministry of Coal had, in principle, accepted Meghalaya’s request for relief as early as 2015, and urged that the Centre now act on it by notifying the delegation of powers under Section 26, along with related powers under the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960, and the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 2017. A formal representation, along with a detailed note on the State’s position and the specific powers sought, was submitted to the Union Minister during the meeting.
Committee to examine the matter
Responding to the submission, the Union Minister proposed setting up a committee to look into the issue. The Chief Minister welcomed the proposal, and such a committee is expected to be constituted in the near future.
Concluding the meeting, Sangma thanked the Union Minister for his time and consideration, and expressed hope that the initiative would pave the way for thousands of families in Meghalaya to earn a lawful and dignified livelihood from their own mineral resources — under proper regulation and close State oversight.
