SHILLONG, MAY 14: The Jaintia Coal Owners, Miners, Suppliers & Workers Association (JCOMSWA) has asked the Meghalaya government to initiate coordinated action with the Autonomous District Councils and the Government of India to open “lawful pathways for regulated, safe, and environmentally responsible coal mining by the indigenous tribal landowners” of East and West Jaintia Hills.
In a memorandum to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday, the association invoked the Supreme Court’s recognition of tribal ownership of minerals as the legal foundation for resolving the decade-long deadlock over coal mining in the state.
“We believe, and we are advised, that the Constitution of India and the existing framework of laws contain within them the tools necessary to resolve this crisis,” JCOMSWA stated.
“The recognition by the Supreme Court of India that the tribal people of Meghalaya are the lawful owners of the minerals beneath their land is a foundation upon which a just and lawful solution can be built.”
The group said the impasse since the 2014 National Green Tribunal ban has left tribal landowners in the Jaintia Hills in a state of “quiet despair.”
According to the memorandum, families “own what lies beneath their feet by the grace of their ancestors and the recognition of the Constitution of India, and who are nonetheless unable to use it for the betterment of their families and communities.”
JCOMSWA made clear it was not seeking a rollback to past practices.
“We are not asking for a return to the unregulated, dangerous, and environmentally reckless rat-hole mining of the past. We are not asking that the law be ignored,” the memorandum said.
Instead, it urged the state to take the lead in forging institutional coordination.
“What is required is the political will to use those tools, and the institutional commitment to coordinate between the Government of Meghalaya, the Autonomous District Councils, and the Government of India,” the association wrote.
The memorandum framed the request as a humble prayer for government action, adding, “We trust that Your Excellency, who has already acknowledged before the highest court of the land that the tribal people of Meghalaya are the rightful owners of their land and its resources, will now translate that acknowledgment into the concrete action that the people of the Jaintia Hills desperately need and deserve.”
JCOMSWA said it remains available to assist the Chief Minister’s office with information or community consultations.
