Meghalaya MP urges Centre to fast-track scientific coal mining, warns of rise in drug smuggling

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) Raising concerns over the impact of the National Green Tribunal's coal mining ban in Meghalaya, Rajya Sabha MP Dr Wanweiroy Kharlukhi on Thursday called upon the Centre to expedite the process of allowing scientific mining in the state, warning that the prohibition has created conditions for drug smuggling to flourish in former coal-mining areas.

Raising the matter during Zero Hour, the National People's Party MP said the ban, imposed in 2014, has dealt a severe blow to thousands of families dependent on coal for their livelihood.

"Coal caters to the needs of thousands of families in the state. Right to earn is the fundamental right of every citizen, and I feel my people have been deprived of that right," Dr Kharlukhi said.

The MP highlighted that the ban has crippled autonomous district councils in the state, which relied on coal as their primary source of revenue.

"The staff of the district council, for months together, have had to go without pay," he said, endorsing demands by MPs from Assam for amendments to the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to strengthen district councils in the Northeast.

Dr Kharlukhi pointed out that the state government collected over Rs 600 crore annually through cess tax on coal, which was used to promote education.

"When the ban was imposed, the collection was 'zero'. The result was that for the first four or five years from 2014, teachers had to come out to the streets demanding their salaries," he said.

While thanking the government for its decision to allow the state to resume mining through scientific methods, the MP raised an alarm over a disturbing trend.

"The dangerous part is that recently, drug smuggling seems to be on the rise in my state, with certain arrests made by law agencies, especially in the coal block areas," he said, urging the government to take the matter seriously to prevent Meghalaya from becoming "a corridor of drug peddling in the region." PTI LUX DRR