Mining Along Arunachal Border Accident-Prone: Coal India Limited (CIL)

DIGBOI: The Margherita-based Coal India Limited (CIL) administration operating under North Eastern Coalfields (NEC) in Tinsukia district has categorically admitted illegal mining activities near the mines of Tirap and Tikak Collieries where major accidents are not unlikely.

This is quite glaring in CIL’s letter (Ref No. NEC/GM/18/168/187) to Tinsukia Deputy Commissioner sent on December 21, 2018.

Appraising the district administration of illegal coal mining and related law-and-order problems being faced by the North Eastern Coalfields, CIL said that the Meghalaya mining tragedy on December 13 this year was mainly due to unscientific, hazardous and illegal mining. “Such serious illegal coal mining accidents may happen anytime in the Assam-Arunachal border where rampant illegal mining is being undertaken,” the letter said, and added, “The NEC has been facing the plight of illegal coal mining near the mines of Tikak and Tirap collieries in Margherita.”

Most of the collieries or the mining sites or the extracted coal depots in Margherita are located along the Assam-Arunachal border of Tinsukia and Changlang districts.

Meanwhile, admitting inadequate security strength, the Coal India administration ironically said that the unknown illegal miners with arms descend the adjacent hills in groups and dig out coal in an unscientific and hazardous manner.

There is no denying the fact that the hazardous illegal mining of raw coal is being carried out in an extensive way, under the nose of the Coal India administration and security agencies, in various border hilly terrains using the ‘rat-hole technique’. A nexus between politicians, the State machinery and mine owners may be cited as a primary reason for illegal mining in Margherita, Ledu, Lekhapani and Jagun areas, despite the ban.

“The death of the illegal miners goes unrecorded most of the time,” said a poor daily coal extractor of Ledu who earns his livelihood selling illegally procured coal to local traders. Despite ban by the National Green Tribunal, the mining of fresh coal is continuing unabated at the cost of the ecology and environment, resulting in sharp rise in man-animal conflict and pollution.

“Namphai Reserve Forest has already fallen prey to human encroachment and has been facing the menace of illegal rat-hole mining under the nose of Jagun forest officials and Jagun Police,” alleged one of the activists of the local NGO, Green Buds Society.

“The long and unstructured parking of hundreds of loaded and unloaded vehicles stranded along the roads from Margherita to Lekhapani have been a potential cause of road accidents, killing several people, mostly in the evening,” lamented an office-bearer of the Margherita unit of the AJYCP.

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