Justice Katakey, head of the single-member committee, on Tuesday informed that an aerial survey conducted by Garuda UAV Soft Solutions in four districts of Meghalaya—East Jaintia Hills, West Khasi Hills, South West Khasi Hills, and South Garo Hills—detected 1.92 lakh MT of illegal coal.
Justice Katakey held a meeting with state officials and the concerned department and will now submit his report before the High Court on April 28, the next date of hearing.
On Monday, Justice Katakey had sought clarifications regarding the aerial survey report submitted to the committee on March 19.
The aerial survey, conducted as per Justice Katakey’s direction, covered four major coal-producing districts—East Jaintia Hills, West Khasi Hills, South West Khasi Hills, and South Garo Hills. The survey was based on the presence of coal dumps identified in the government’s 2019 affidavit submitted before the Supreme Court, which specified the coordinates of these dumps. Justice Katakey explained that the committee had instructed the government to conduct an aerial survey within a one-kilometre radius of the inventoried coal dumps to check for any additional unaccounted coal.
Justice Katakey reiterated that his mandate, as assigned by the High Court, is to ensure the implementation of the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal (NGT) directions. His role involves overseeing the auction of inventoried coal and preventing illegal coal mining and transportation.
“My reports strictly adhere to the mandate set by the High Court. I will not comment on the performance or lapses of any authority. Whatever I needed to state has been submitted in my reports,” he concluded.
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