Not cops, need central armed forces to curb illegal coal mining: Meghalaya HC

GUWAHATI: Meghalaya high court has directed ministry of home affairs to deploy "appropriate central armed police force" to check illegal mining and transportation of coal in the state as the local police force has been completely "ineffective or unwilling" to control these illicit activities.
The high court directed the MHA to ensure the deployment of 10 companies of the appropriate central armed police force, which will be commanded independently or jointly by the officers from the local police selected by the court, strictly for the purpose of keeping vigil on the roads and arresting the illegal transportation of illegally mined coal in the state and make its response available in the court in the next hearing on April 27.
"It must be appreciated that this is an unusual situation which has arisen. Despite orders of the Supreme Court, which have been in place since or about 2016, rampant illegal mining of coal has continued in the state and such illegally mined coal has been allowed to be freely transported, even to the extent of being regularly exported to Bangladesh by possible false declarations that the coal originated elsewhere," the bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee, Justice HS Thangkhiew and Justice W Diengdoh noted in its order on a suo moto PIL on Wednesday.
The bench added, "Since the local police force, under the state government, has been completely ineffective or unwilling to control the malaise or implement the orders of the Supreme Court, which they are duty bound to do, it is felt appropriate that an external police force may be deployed for checking the illegal transportation of illegally mined coal in the state."
Coming down heavily on the state government, the bench said despite submission by the state government that there was now a system in place which has completely stopped the illegal transportation of coal, an accident has been reported in Wednesday's newspapers of a truck illegally transporting illegally mined coal in Ri-Bhoi district.
"There is no doubt that both illegal mining and illegal transportation of coal continue and if the rule of law is to be asserted in this state, it cannot be done with the present machinery available in the state," the bench said in its order.
Earlier last month, the court had dealt on the possibility of deploying Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) but the central government's representative pointed out that since the CRPF works under the instructions of the local police and the real intention of the court was for the local police not to be associated in the process since it had been ineffective in such regard, the CISF may be the appropriate force.
The court then had asked for readiness indication by CISF.
Deputy Solicitor General Dr N Mozika on Wednesday reported to the court that the CISF was unwilling to take up the assignment, primarily because the nature of the work does not fall within the usual activities undertaken by such police force.
The court said, "Despite the apparent unwillingness on the part of the CISF", once a direction is issued by the court, the relevant force would be bound "subject to its right to have the order tested in the appropriate forum" and without naming any specific central police force, the court directed MHA to deploy appropriate Central Armed Police Force.
Also, earlier last month, the Meghalaya government had submitted a plan to deploy 21,600 CRPF personnel to check illegal coal mining in 12 districts, which was turned down by the court saying the state's coal reserves may be exhausted by the time this "rather grandiose plan" of the state is put in place.
The court ordered that instead of the proposed 160 companies of CRPF, which will be under the government, 10 companies of central armed police force, which can work independently, will be enough to check the illegal mining in the state.