Relevance : GS Paper III
Issues with illegal coal mining in Meghalaya
- Mining in Meghalaya is a private activity.
- Mines are called rat-hole as they are barely ft wide.
- Meghalaya govt has no concern with these mines.
- Despite the NGT ban in 2014, mining continues.
- Meghalaya is exempted from national mining laws.
Was the recent disaster managed well?
- District administration assumed the miners to be dead on the very day of the tragedy.
- Hydrologist, divers, high power water pumps, Â geologists arrived only 2 weeks later from Hyderabad.
- There was no one person or agency to coordinate the rescue mission.
Impact on environment
- Poisoning of rivers
- Non-productive agricultural land
Arguments given for coal mining
- rat-hole mining should continue because no other form of mining is viable.
- coal mining provides livelihoods for many.
- since Meghalaya is under the Sixth Schedule, national mining laws should be exempted here..
 Conclusion
The  Central government and the Supreme Court should not allow this to carry on in one part of the country when strict laws are applied elsewhere.
