Shillong, Feb 28: Meghalaya is on a gradual path of transition from the now-banned rat-hole coal mining into scientific coal mining.
The government has been working relentlessly for transition into scientific mining in the state, said governor CH Vijayashankar in his address to the state assembly on the first day of the budget session on Friday.
Underscoring the need for reviving coal mining in the state, “Since the ban on rat-hole coal mining was imposed in the state by the NGT and upheld by the Supreme Court, livelihood of lakhs of people dependent on coal mining directly or indirectly has been severely impacted.”
However, scientific coal mining, with which local coal mine owners are not familiar yet, is expected to change the scenario in the coming years.
“Three applicants have now received final approval from the Ministry of Coal to begin scientific mining operations,” the governor said.
“An additional 20 applications have been forwarded to the Ministry and are in the advanced stages of approval,” he added.
