Shillong: Authorities in Meghalaya are dragging their feet on illegal coal cases. The 40th interim report from the Justice (retd) B.P. Katakey Committee exposes a major failure to move on 92 pieces of equipment and 62 vehicles seized between 2023 and 2026. Despite hundreds of registered crimes, legal action remains stalled.
Police records show 64 cases for illegal transport and 127 for illegal extraction over these four years. Officers seized 29 vehicles in 2023, one in 2025, and 32 in 2026. All 92 machines were grabbed in 2026 alone. Yet, officials only filed for confiscation under Sections 21(4) and 21(4A) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, in a single case in East Jaintia Hills. They are not following the law.
The committee blasted the lack of enforcement against those in charge. They noted, "Except in one case in East Jaintia Hills, no action appeared to have been initiated against landowners." Investigators only pursued three coal-mine owners in 2026, all located in East Jaintia Hills. One landowner faced charges during the same window.
The committee is now forcing the issue. They ordered the investigating agency to wrap up pending probes and hit the courts with confiscation applications immediately. Officials also sent notices to village headmen under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to demand landowner identities, but that data has not reached the committee yet.
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