The Meghalaya government has ordered a fresh inspection of coal dump sites in Diengngan and Rajaju villages of South West Khasi Hills following a startling discrepancy in coal stock verification. Nearly 4,000 metric tonnes of coal, initially detected in an aerial survey, could not be accounted for during ground checks, prompting renewed scrutiny of the state’s coal management system.
In an affidavit submitted to the Meghalaya High Court on Monday, the government said that a final report on the fresh inspection would be ready within a month. This direction follows a probe initiated by the district deputy commissioner, in compliance with a July 24 High Court order linked to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in 2022, aimed at monitoring coal mining and transportation in the state.
A three-member committee of senior officials, tasked with investigating the discrepancy, found it “highly improbable” for such a large quantity of coal to vanish without detection. The committee attributed the mismatch primarily to incomplete information, environmental challenges, and the absence of geotagged coordinates, rather than negligence on the part of authorities.
According to the Meghalaya Basin Development Agency (MBDA) aerial survey, 2,121.62 MT of coal was recorded in Diengngan and 1,839.03 MT in Rajaju. However, ground verification teams located only 2.5 MT and 8 MT, respectively. The committee recommended a fresh inspection with precise GPS mapping by MBDA to avoid similar discrepancies in the future.
The report also flagged ongoing risks of cross-border coal smuggling, calling for enhanced surveillance, stricter enforcement, and better inter-agency coordination. The deputy commissioner clarified that earlier figures were based on incomplete datasets, and with updated information, verification will be carried out again.
The situation was further inflamed when former excise minister Kyrmen Shylla joked that the missing coal might have been “washed away by the rains into Bangladesh.” His remarks drew widespread condemnation from civil society groups, opposition parties, and citizens, who criticized the comments as “absurd” and “irresponsible”, accusing him of trivializing a serious governance lapse.
The coal discrepancy comes against a backdrop of a long-standing ban on unscientific coal mining in Meghalaya. In 2014, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) prohibited rat-hole mining, citing severe environmental and safety risks. The ban also extended to the transport of illegally mined coal, though limited exceptions were allowed under court supervision.
Despite the ban, multiple investigations, including High Court-appointed panels, have repeatedly revealed that illegal coal mining and transport persist across the state. A November 2023 report confirmed that rat-hole mining continues, directly violating the NGT ban and raising environmental and regulatory concerns.