The High Court of Meghalaya on Monday asked the state government to look into allegations of illegal mining mentioned in a PIL.
The petitioner of a pending PIL had submitted before the court that two miners from Assam had died in a coal mine in South Garo Hills district and this was not reported in the newspapers.
In his submission to the division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh, Champer Sangma, the petitioner, said transportation of “illegally-mined coal continues merrily” in Meghalaya and even the death of two coal workers from Assam in the South Garo Hills district has gone unnoticed and not been reported in the newspapers in the state.
The petitioner informed the bench that he had “video footage of the illegal mining activities and the transportation of the illegally-mined coal”. The bench directed Sangma to ensure that such video footage can be viewed in court when the matter is listed on July 4 for hearing.
A senior government official should be present to immediately respond to whatever is revealed from the relevant video footage, the bench said.
