The state unit of BJP in Meghalaya has demanded a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the alleged illegal coal trade in the state. Meghalaya BJP vice-president and Tura MDC Bernard Marak, who chairs the party’s committee on illegal coal mining and transportation, informed that the committee has already submitted its first inquiry report to the Centre. Marak said that another report, a comprehensive one, was being prepared. He informed that the committee’s initial inquiry in Garo Hills reportedly uncovered allegations that police personnel receive Rs 4,000 per truck, deputy commissioners get Rs 1,000 per truck, while some MLAs are paid Rs 2,800 per truck to turn a blind eye to illegal transportation.
The BJP leader claimed that when several trucks ply and challans are issued for just a few, a massive revenue gap is created, apparently as a result of large-scale illegal movement. “We are collecting ground-level evidence from quarries to point out the exact sources of illegal extraction. Whenever the issue is raised, the state government goes into denial despite the large-scale illegal activity being known to all,” he said. The BJP leader alleged that several high-profile individuals are part of a well-oiled network and details are emerging about who is receiving how much money and how the racket operates. “Concrete evidence is being gathered, including verbal information about the amounts paid to facilitate transportation and the routes used,” he claimed.
He said that while legal coal transportation would generate revenue for the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), illegal mining and transportation are depriving the council of its due share. “An FIR has already been filed, and evidence of trucks moving without challans or with overloaded consignments is available,” he added. The BJP leader said that illegal coal mining and transportation cannot be allowed to continue unchecked in Meghalaya and that an ED probe would become inevitable if the state government continued to remain muted and inactive.