NGT accepts coal miners plea: MCOTOA

From Staff Correspondent

Shillong, April 30: The tiol Green Tribul (NGT) has accepted the Meghalaya Coal and Truck Owners Association (MCOTOA) petition to exempt the coal mine owners from the purview of “the levy on clean energy cess”, claimed the president of the MCOTOA Auguistine Shanpru on Thursday.

Informing newspersons at a press conference in Shillong, the MCOTOA functiory said that the petition submitted through the legal counsel Amit Kumar was accepted and the Tribul ruling is expected by May 14.

Shanpru highlighted the contention made before the NGT on the basis of the June 24, 2010 notification issued by the Union Ministry of Fince, Department of Revenue that stated, “In the state of Meghalaya, coal is mined under traditiol and customary rights vested on the local tribes. The mines operated by these tribes are not subjected to the provisions of laws that regulate the operation of coal mines. As such, full exemption from clean energy cess is being provided to coal produced in the state of Meghalaya under such rights”.

The NGT previous ruling has held that the unscientific extraction of coal in the state was having a detrimental effect on the environment. In a normal laymen interpretation, it has even asked the authorities and the coal mine owners to ensure that there should be a restoration of the depreciation of environment besides the blanket ban on the rat hole mining since April, 2014. .

However, the MCOTOA, said that their lawyer have sought exemption from the cess on clean energy because they are paying a royalty to the government. “We are paying a royalty Rs 675 per ton of coal and we expected the rate to be inclusive,” another functiory of the MCOTOA stated.