SHILLONG: A commission set up by the Meghalaya High Court has recommended the use of explosives to blow up the entrance to illegal coal mines in South West Khasi Hills district following concerns that authorities were finding it difficult to ensure they remain closed as they could be rapid. activated.

The justice BP Katakey (retd) committee made the recommendation in its 25th interim report after the district authorities expressed concern about the difficulty of regular mine inspection and monitoring as “there are also countless abandoned coal mines, some of which may be easily activated in a very short period of time”.

“It is also stated in the report that technical and logical support be provided to allow the entrance to these mines to be sealed with explosives to prevent reactivation,” Justices W Diengdoh and HS Thangkhiew said in their order after Monday’s proceedings which saw advocate general Amit Kumar informing the court about the action taken on the commission’s 24th and 25th interim report.

Justice Katakey (retd) was initially appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2019 to assess the environmental impact of coal mining in Meghalaya and recommend measures to restore the environment damaged by illegal mining activities.

In 2022, Justice Katakey was appointed by the high court to head the committee recommending action to be taken by the state in a suo motu court case on illegal coal mining in the state.

On the commission’s recommendation in its 24th report to use satellite imagery to monitor the state’s coal zones, the high court was told that the North-East Space Applications Center (NESAC) reported that it would not could perform this task due to the “unavailability of high resolution Indian satellites”.

The advocate general told the high court that the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority could be tasked with this survey as an alternative. The high court expressed concern over the delay, recalling that the commission had recommended that it was “absolutely necessary that the images of the coal areas be documented”, and told the state to quickly find a solution.

Another key issue raised in the report was the lack of progress in establishing smart integrated control gates at strategic locations such as Borsora, Bagli and Cherragoan.

These check gates are crucial for monitoring coal transportation and preventing illegal movement of coal. The state government has not yet implemented this recommendation due to difficulties in identifying suitable locations.

A suggestion was made to designate a specific route for coal carriers to follow, failure of which would result in the coal being confiscated. However, the High Court noted that even this proposal has not yet been implemented by the state authorities.

The court scheduled the next hearing for December 2.

The court also sought information regarding station charges levied on coal and the amount of coal in inventory still awaiting shipment.