SC: Mine owner to blame for Meghalaya tragedy

GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court on Friday held the owner of the illegal ‘rat hole’ coal mine in Meghalaya responsible for the mishap that happened on December 13. Operations to look for the ill-fated miners who have since been trapped in the mine are still ongoing owing to the earlier intervention of the apex court.
Judges AK Sikri and Abdul Nazeer also asked Meghalaya government and Coal India Ltd to give particulars of other illegal mines in the area.The court will hear the matter next on February 22.
Fifteen miners got stuck inside the mine at Ksan under Saipung police station of East Jaintia Hills on December 13 when the mine was suddenly flooded by water gushing in from the Lytein river nearby.
“The aforesaid mishappening has taken place because of illegal mining in the concerned mines for which, obviously, the mine owner is responsible. It is, therefore, directed that notice be issued to the mine owner also, namely Jrin Chullet @ Krip Chullet, R/O Village Narwan, P.S. Saipung, Dist HQ Khliehriat, East Jaintia Hills District, Meghalaya-793200,” the court ordered. The court also ordered that Chullet be impleaded as a respondent.
The state disaster response force and the national disaster response force had launched immediate rescue operations, but with 370 feet water in the main hole, getting rescuers in was difficult. The situation remained unchanged until the central government stepped in by pushing in a multi-agency rescue operation by Indian Navy, Coal India Limited and Odisha fire and emergency department on December 29.
A Delhi-based advocate, Aditya N Prasad, had filed a petition seeking the apex court’s intervention when rescue operations were on the verge of being withdrawn.
On January 11, the court ordered the governments that rescue operation would continue for “miracles do happen” and in the following weeks, rescuers recovered highly decomposed bodies of two of the miners.
The petitioner’s counsel, Anand Grover, pointed out to the court that the problem of de-watering the mines still persists. He told the court that Kirloskar has sufficient number of 100 HP capacity pumps and is even ready to supply them for pumping out the water. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta then told the court that these pumps would be airlifted to the nearest point from the site and with the help of Army authorities would be installed at the earliest.
Coal mining was banned in 2014 by National Green Tribunal after a series of mine tragedies killed scores of people between 1992 and 2014. The majority of these miners were engaged in illegal mines in Jaintia Hills and South Garo Hills districts. Most of these illegal mines are spread over Sutnga, Lakadong, Musiang-Lamare, Khliehriat, Ioksi, Ladrymbai, Rymbai, Byrwai, Chyrmang, Bapung, Jarain, Shkentalang, Lumshnong and Sakynphor areas.
The Meghalaya government has been denying the existence of illegal coal mines in the state until this tragedy. The state implemented the Mines and Minerals Policy in 2012 but the Act was ignored by mine owners. Successive state governments would look the other way because coal is one of its biggest revenue earners for the state. There is an estimated coal reserve of about 600 million tonne in the state.