Meghalaya Coal Monitoring Intensifies With New Transportation Order

Judicial intervention in Meghalaya’s long-running illegal coal saga has taken a decisive administrative turn after a key committee headed by retired Justice B.P. Katakey directed authorities to relocate 1.43 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of illegally mined coal from open dumps to designated Coal India Ltd (CIL) depots. The order comes amid concerns that unsecured coal stockpiles are vulnerable to loss, theft and environmental degradation, pointing to persistent enforcement gaps nearly a decade after rat-hole mining was banned. Meghalaya illegal coal oversight remains a complex interplay of environmental safeguards, legal mandates and supply chain risk. 

The Supreme Court-upheld ban on traditional rat-hole mining in 2014 mandated that all coal extraction be scientific and regulated to protect worker safety and fragile ecosystems. While a framework for lawful mining has been developed and new blocks have begun production under strict regulatory oversight, illegal mining and unmonitored stockpiling persisted in districts such as East Jaintia Hills. Recent aerial surveys using drone imagery detected coal at over 1,500 dumps across East Jaintia Hills, with an aggregate estimate of more than 1.8 lakh MT of material scattered outside official depots. However, ground verification located just over 1.43 lakh MT, leaving tens of thousands of tonnes unaccounted for — triggering fresh judicial concern over possible disappearance or diversion of these resources. 

Following this discrepancy, Justice Katakey’s directive instructs the district administration to expedite the physical relocation of the confirmed stockpile into CIL-approved depots, where space is available to safeguard the coal and bring it under official inventory and auction mechanisms. The order emphasises urgency, noting that retaining coal in unsecured locations could lead to further unauthorised removal. Institutional stakeholders see this manoeuvre as part of the judiciary’s effort to strengthen oversight of Meghalaya’s mineral value chain — a system long plagued by weak enforcement and speculative supply channels. FIRs have already been registered in connection with earlier instances of missing coal, and investigations are proceeding alongside the relocation effort. 

Economic planners and environmental advocates alike stress that effective monitoring of illegally mined coal is critical not only for legal compliance but also for the state’s ecological and social resilience. Coal stockpiles left exposed contribute to surface runoff pollution, respiratory health hazards and degraded land, especially in a region where monsoon rainfall is intense and topography fragile. The government’s administrative response — in tandem with judicial oversight — marks an attempt to close persistent operational gaps identified over years of interim reports. Governance experts note that relocation of stockpiled coal to secure depots is a necessary, but not sufficient, step toward comprehensive reform: tracking systems, digital inventories and transparent auction protocols will be essential to prevent future losses. 

At the community level, this intensified scrutiny reflects a broader demand for accountability from both state agencies and private actors involved in extraction and transport. With coal still integral to regional energy supply chains — and with valid mining operations now under way in designated blocks — the balance between lawful economic activity and illegal practices remains a strategic priority for Meghalaya’s administration and its judiciary.

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Meghalaya Coal Monitoring Intensifies With New Transportation Order