Shillong: Illegal coal mining thrives in Meghalaya. It survives because of massive paydays and weak job alternatives. Retired Justice B.P. Katakey says enforcement gaps alone do not explain the persistence of the trade. Miners pull in more than Rs 2,000 per day. Local labor markets offer only Rs 700 to Rs 800 for other work. That gap keeps the industry moving.
The coal economy bleeds into local shops and small businesses. These rely on the steady flow of mining cash. Restrictions fail because they ignore this deep financial web. Katakey says officials must pivot. They need to address these economic realities or the digging will never stop.
Nearly Rs 350 crore sits in the Meghalaya Environment Protection and Restoration Fund. Another Rs 100 crore waits with the Central Pollution Control Board. These funds should bankroll real work. Katakey notes that training programs have yielded nothing. "Unless the government is successful in providing the alternative source of livelihood, I don’t think that this will discontinue," he said.
Enforcement remains a mess. The Meghalaya High Court appointed Katakey in 2022 to track progress. He flagged 48 issues back then. Only four to six are fully resolved. Most remain stuck in partial limbo. He now demands a fresh status report from the state. He is also investigating a recent truck crash that jammed traffic for hours. He wants to know if that haul was legal or just more coal moving through the shadows.
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