Meghalaya seeks Centre’s approval for technology-assisted coal mining framework

The Meghalaya government has approached the Centre seeking powers to approve coal mining plans within the state, days after the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) demanded that the ban on coal mining be lifted.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on July 7, 2026 said he met Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy in New Delhi and urged the Centre to delegate powers to the state under Section 26 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.

The state has sought authority to grant previous approval and clear mining plans for coal. Sangma said the move would allow thousands of small tribal coal holders to obtain lawful mineral concessions and approvals within Meghalaya itself.

But activists have questioned how such a framework would be implemented, warning that the state has not presented a clear plan to ensure transparency, prevent land grabs, protect local livelihoods or avoid further environmental damage.

Why Meghalaya wants state-level approvals

The demand comes in the context of Meghalaya’s Sixth Schedule protections, under which land and the minerals beneath it are owned by individuals, clans or communities, rather than the state.

The Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council is one of three Autonomous District Councils in Meghalaya. These councils have legislative and administrative powers in tribal areas under the Sixth Schedule.

In 2019, the Supreme Court held that tribal landowners in Meghalaya owned both the land and the minerals beneath it, while also requiring mining to comply with the MMDR Act.

Sangma said Meghalaya’s coal deposits are thin and scattered, and are often held in small family or clan parcels rather than large blocks. He argued that the national mining model does not fit the state’s ground reality.

The National Green Tribunal restrained rat-hole mining in Meghalaya in 2014. Since then, Sangma said, many families dependent on small-scale coal mining had lost their livelihoods, while the state had lost revenue from royalty, cess and taxes.

The chief minister also said the minimum concession area of 100 hectares, fixed in the 2021 Standard Operating Procedure on the advice of the ministry, had effectively excluded most genuine coal holders.

Such large continuous areas rarely exist in Meghalaya and are almost never held by a single owner, he said.

It was also impractical and unaffordable, he added, for small holders to repeatedly travel to Delhi and to the Indian Bureau of Mines office in Kolkata to seek approvals for modest deposits.

Sangma said the Ministry of Coal had, in principle, agreed to Meghalaya’s request for relief as far back as 2015. He urged the Centre to complete the process by issuing notifications under Section 26 and delegating the relevant powers to the state.

The state has also sought connected powers under the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960, and the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 2017.

A formal representation and detailed note have been submitted to the Union minister, according to the state government.

Push for ‘scientific’ mining

In June 2025, the Centre permitted Meghalaya to undertake scientific coal mining in two blocks: Saryngkham A Coal Block in East Jaintia Hills district and Pyndengshahlang Coal Block in West Khasi Hills district.

A year later, all 30 members of the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council passed two resolutions in a special session, seeking approval from the Centre to lift restrictions imposed after the NGT ban.

The NGT’s 2014 order had restrained rat-hole mining and sought presidential modification of key central mining laws under Paragraph 12A(b) of the Sixth Schedule to recognise tribal mineral rights.

Sangma has said the state is exploring whether tunnel mining can be allowed using modern technology.

In an interview with The Meghalaya Express, he said discussions included the possible use of 3D mapping to identify risk areas, spaces where miners could safely enter, and infrastructure to make mines stable.

He said affordable machines and technologies used in other countries could be considered if they helped reduce risks.

The chief minister also said open-cast mining was not viable in Meghalaya. With around 22,000 mines spread across the state, he said it was difficult to design a system that worked for miners under the current framework.

Activists warn of risks

Activists say the proposal raises serious questions.

Agnes Kharshiing, women’s rights activist and president of the Civil Society Women’s Organization in Meghalaya, told Down To Earth that the plan was practically unfeasible.

“The ground has to be dug at least 500 feet down and over 1,000 feet horizontally for rat-hole mining. Imagine the environmental damage on a large scale that the fragile mountains are not prepared for,” she said.

Kharshiing said the use of machines could worsen risks if mountains were hollowed from the inside.

“The chief minister and concerned ministers should visit these sites and conduct an audit to understand the gravity of the situation and how dangerous it will be for workers,” she said.

She also alleged that illegal mining was continuing despite the ban, and that local communities were already facing the consequences through polluted water and damage to agricultural land.

“The state government has no clear blueprint to offer on how this mining plan will be executed with transparency, while protecting the livelihood of locals and preventing land grabs,” she said.

The renewed push for coal mining has again brought Meghalaya’s long-running debate over tribal mineral rights, livelihoods, environmental safeguards and worker safety to the centre of public attention.

For the state government, delegated powers would make it easier for small coal holders to operate legally.

For critics, any new framework must first show how it will prevent a return to unsafe mining, protect fragile landscapes and ensure that local communities do not lose control over land and resources.