Shillong: The High Court of Meghalaya has directed the state government to fix responsibility and take appropriate action after nearly 4,000 metric tonnes of previously inventoried coal was found missing from two storage sites in Rajaju and Diengngan villages.
The directive came during a hearing on Thursday, where the division bench led by Justice H.S. Thangkhiew reviewed the 31st interim report submitted by the Justice B.P. Katakey Committee, which is overseeing coal mining and transportation in the state.
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According to the report, only 2.5 metric tonnes of coal were found at Diengngan against an earlier recorded figure of 1,839.03 metric tonnes by the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA). Similarly, only 8 metric tonnes were found at Rajaju, which had previously recorded 2,121.62 metric tonnes.
The court expressed concern over how the coal, which had already been identified and inventoried, was removed without detection. It asked the state to identify those responsible—both individuals and officials—and submit details of actions taken.
In its submission, the state confirmed that FIRs had been registered in connection with the missing coal in Rajaju, Diengngan, and South Garo Hills, but provided no further update on the status of investigations.
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The committee also reviewed issues related to the auction of coal stored at Coal India Limited (CIL) depots. Following a court order dated June 2, meetings were held with stakeholders to improve the auction process.
CIL submitted four proposals, and the committee has recommended additional provisions requiring full payment within 120 days and coal lifting within 120 days of payment. Non-compliance would lead to bid cancellation and re-auctioning.
The committee further recommended engagement with local authorised coal-based industries to increase participation and suggested offering concessional rates to bulk consumers. Based on CIL’s recommendation, the state has put fresh auctions on hold until pending issues are resolved.
The report also examined 21 applications from individuals claiming their coal stocks were not reflected in UAV surveys conducted by M/s Garuda UAV and MBDA. Of these, only one claim was found valid. The rest were rejected due to mismatched coordinates, lack of supporting affidavits, or absence from the official inventory.
The court has asked the state to clarify whether any action, including FIRs under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, has been taken on these applications.
Additionally, the committee directed deputy commissioners to cross-check actual coal stock with UAV survey data and file FIRs in cases of significant discrepancy. It also addressed a reported mismatch between truck numbers and transport challans, which was attributed to vehicle breakdowns and coal being reloaded onto other trucks.
Regarding enforcement, the committee noted that overloading issues are being monitored, and Rs 13.49 lakh in demurrage charges have been recovered so far, with Rs 5.01 lakh pending.
A reported coal miner death in Musiang village was found to be false, based on a police report submitted to the court.
On regulatory matters, an audit of coal sources for coke oven plants is still in progress. The court was informed that the findings would be presented in the next hearing.
Integration of Smart Check Gates with customs gates is being explored to enhance monitoring of coal transport.
The High Court has listed the matter for the next hearing on August 25 and directed that copies of the latest report be shared with all relevant authorities for compliance.