Shillong: Meghalaya officials are heading to Delhi. They want to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Coal Minister G. Kishan Reddy to overhaul coal mining rules. Small miners across the state say current regulations fail to account for the local terrain. They want the government to change the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act.
The current rules force large-scale open-cast mining. This model demands massive investment, leaving local miners out in the cold. Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said the state has already reviewed new technology proposals from local miners. They will pitch these methods to federal leaders to make extraction more affordable.
Scientific mining is already happening in some spots. Yet, the high costs keep most locals from participating in the industry. Sangma remains committed to fixing these financial hurdles. He stated, “The livelihood concerns of the people remain a priority.” The state government now waits to see if the Centre will budge on the regulatory framework.
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