Rat-hole mining in Meghalaya exposes limits of the ban and challenge of mapping state’s hills

On the morning of February 5, 2026, a dynamite explosion in an illegal coal mine at Mynsyngat in the Thangkso area of East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, killed 34 labourers, according to reports so far. The incident raises serious questions about the nature and regulation of mining activities in the state.

Officially permitted coal mining in Meghalaya began only in mid-2025. The Saryngkham coal block in East Jaintia Hills and the Pyndengshahlang coal block in West Khasi Hills were the first mines permitted by the Union Ministry of Coal, beginning production on June 3, 2025 and June 5, 2025, respectively, according to a Press Information Bureau release on August 7, 2025.

So, did coal mining really begin in Meghalaya only in 2025? The answer is no.

Meghalaya has long been known for its ‘rat-hole mining’. This is a primitive method that employs small machinery and manual labour for coal extraction. Due to the provisions of the Sixth Schedule in the Indian Constitution, land across the state belongs to the community rather than to the government or large private companies. As a result, coal mining in Meghalaya has largely been carried out by local landowners on a small scale using primitive methods, unlike the large organised mining operations undertaken by government enterprises or major private corporations.

Consequently, mining processes were largely unscientific, lacking environmental clearance, worker safety measures, or permission from competent authorities. The Justice BP Katakey Committee report in 2018 highlighted these irregularities. Earlier, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed a halt to such unscientific mining processes in 2014.

These mining activities had already attracted the attention of the Shillong Bench of the Gauhati High Court when a news report on July 6, 2012 described the deaths of 15 labourers, out of 30 trapped, in a coal mine in South Garo Hills. The court initiated suo motu proceedings and transferred the matter to the tribunal. The NGT subsequently directed the stoppage of rat-hole mining and the transportation of already-mined coal on April 17, 2014.

Transport, corruption and violence

In the meantime, various orders allowed the transportation of extracted coal provided that royalty was paid first by those claiming they had mined coal prior to the 2014 NGT ban. Some operators exaggerated the amount of coal extracted, while certain government officials responsible for verifying these claims allegedly accepted commissions and facilitated the false declarations.

Most of the extracted coal has since been transported. Night after night, heavily overloaded trucks transport coal along these routes, often passing through multiple police jurisdictions, reportedly after paying a fee, according to local sources.

Only a few police officers took these illegal operations seriously. One such officer, Sub-Inspector PJ Marbaniang, lost his life after allegedly detaining 32 trucks carrying illegal coal in Patharkhmah on January 23, 2015. He was shot from behind, according to records at CHC Patharkhmah.

Subsequently, on August 31, 2018, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the NGT and constituted an independent committee under the leadership of former judge BP Katakey to oversee the execution of the NGT’s orders. Despite these interventions, the widely prevalent rat-hole mining in the state has continued to operate outside appropriate scientific methods. Such unregulated mining has serious consequences for people living in the affected areas.

Coal mining beneath the caves of East Jaintia Hills

A case of rat-hole mining is described here based on visits by the authors to coal mining areas in East Jaintia Hills.

Visits to the Nongkhlieh area of Saipung block in East Jaintia Hills reveal the impacts of coal mining in the region. Saipung block is home to a large number of spectacular natural caves. The Shnongrim Ridge contains some of the longest natural caves in South Asia. Krem Liat Prah is the longest natural cave in the Indian subcontinent, alongside other remarkable caves such as Krem Chympe, Krem Umthloo, and Krem Shrieh.

However, these natural treasures and the communities living above them are increasingly at risk due to illegal coal mining. Unscientific mining has multiple consequences for both nature and people. Reckless excavation beneath the caves makes the hills fragile and hollow from within. It undermines the rights and livelihoods of tribal communities who inhabit and cultivate land above these caves.

Banana plantations and paddy fields are widely visible in the farmland lying above the caves. Residents live with constant anxiety that the land could collapse one day because of mining activities beneath it.

During earlier visits to areas within East Jaintia Hills district, co-author Kumar was told that hills containing paddy fields had already collapsed due to excessive mining beneath the land, particularly in areas falling under the Ladrymbai police outpost. Even the office of the Deputy Commissioner in Khliehriat was reportedly relocated amid widespread concerns about subterranean cavities in the area.

Those affected often hesitate to report such incidents due to fear. Land grabbing has also been reported. When the co-author asked a representative of a traditional local body about the problems faced by residents and why peace could not be restored, he replied that it was very difficult for people to speak openly about coal mining. To reach other parts of the state, residents must cross Sutnga, where coal from nearby mines is collected and transported.

According to the representative, people who raised questions were threatened: “If you want to talk, bring the rope and we can hang you.”

Sutnga is now the primary collection point from where coal is transported out of the region. Earlier, Kongong served this role. After the NGT ban in 2014, however, the collection site shifted to Sutnga.

Fear, violence and silence

Sutnga has also been associated with violence. In July 2024, four people were brutally killed under the jurisdiction of the Umpleng police post, following which a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was set up to investigate the incident.

However, many people believe the killings were intended to terrorise residents and silence opposition to coal mafias. Even journalists reportedly avoid taking photographs or videos in the area out of fear.

A member of a traditional body pointed to coal mining beneath the hill on which his relative’s house stands. The vibrations from drilling and blasting in the mines below can be felt inside the house. Residents also describe a disturbing phenomenon: when a hill collapses after the main pillar inside a mine is cut, a deep moaning sound is heard.

In rat-hole mining, labourers carry out “box cutting” — excavating sections of the hill in square chambers, usually around 15 by 15 feet. Pillars of coal are left in place to support the hill while mining continues. Once extraction is complete, these pillars are removed as well, causing the hill to collapse. The collapse produces the eerie sounds that residents speak of. In many places, hills are also bored through from the sides.

Exploited labour and poisoned water

These impacts provide only a glimpse of the destruction caused by unsupervised and reckless mining. According to a NGT report on coal mining in Meghalaya, no comprehensive records currently exist, and a detailed study is required to assess the full impact across the state.

The Justice BP Katakey Committee found that the state government had not granted permission or environmental clearance to any rat-hole mine, even though approvals had been issued for limestone The coal mines are equally disastrous for the labourers working in them. The workers are largely informal and unrecorded, paid poorly and denied even basic facilities. They descend into deep shafts filled with hazardous gases, often without any safety equipment.

In the event of an accident or health emergency, labourers frequently avoid visiting nearby health centres because they fear being arrested for working in illegal mines. Yet many workers do not see the activity as illegal. They say the presence of elements of the state machinery — police, mining officials and transport enforcement authorities — who allow operations when payments are made creates an impression that the trade is informally protected. In some cases, politicians are also believed to be involved in coal mining.

According to labourers interviewed by the author, when migrant workers die in these mines their bodies may be dumped in the “sarkari forests” controlled by the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC).

Mining waste has also severely damaged the environment. Run-off from the mines has turned nearby natural water sources acidic and unsafe for drinking. Local residents are often forced to buy potable water from the maliks — the mine owners. Tankers from nearby cement plants sometimes supply water as well.

Land maps see land in only two dimensions

Another problem lies in the way land is mapped and understood.

Land is commonly viewed in two dimensions — length and breadth. Most land survey agencies in India produce planimetric maps, which are two-dimensional representations of the Earth’s surface. These maps can show property boundaries, buildings, roads, water bodies and vegetation, but they do not represent height, depth, slope or terrain relief. These maps are prepared largely for administrative convenience. 

The Meghalaya Land Survey and Records Preparation Rules, 1982 state that detailed survey maps would be two-dimensional. Similarly, the latest notification issued by the Mining and Geology Department of the Government of Meghalaya (5 March 2021) states that two types of maps are required for a mining licence. 

The first is a map of the proposed mining area plotted on a Survey of India map at a scale of 1:50,000, and the second is a sketch plan of the proposed mining area at a scale of 1:4,000. This means that the maps required for obtaining a mining licence are essentially two-dimensional.

However, Rule 34A of the amended Mineral Conservation and Development Rules (MCDR), 2017, of the Government of India, made it mandatory to conduct drone surveys and submit aerial images and a Digital Elevation Model (a three-dimensional representation) to the Indian Bureau of Mines in the case of mining major minerals. These changes, however, are yet to be implemented effectively.

The Justice Katakey Committee, in its 27th interim report submitted to the Meghalaya High Court in 2025, recommended proper drone surveillance in all districts of Meghalaya. The committee recognised that illegal coal mining continued in different parts of the state even after the ban imposed by the NGT.

Lessons from the ground

Irregularities in rat-hole mining are clearly visible in Meghalaya. Coal mining without scientific assessment and environmental clearances remains widespread even after the NGT ban. The responsible authorities appear to be evading accountability.

The state government has not officially permitted rat-hole mining, yet trucks carrying coal continue to receive challans allowing them to move from mining sites to other locations. Trucks are not needles; they travel along national highways and pass through toll plazas and police jurisdictions without apparent obstruction.

On the other hand, mining has severe impacts on local communities. Residents often have to purchase drinking water, and they live in constant fear that their crop fields and homes may collapse due to mining beneath the land. The fear of losing both livelihood and shelter is very real in these areas.

Labourers working in the mines also lack basic employment protections and operate without adequate regulation. The absence of safety gear, health facilities, and minimum wages leads to the exploitation of workers.

Another important issue is the two-dimensional visualisation of land in official maps. The region where mining occurs beneath the surface cannot be understood through a two-dimensional approach alone. People are already experiencing the collapse of crop fields and homes. Mining therefore needs to be analysed in three dimensions in order to prevent destruction caused by excavation beneath hills and to estimate the accurate volume of minerals being extracted.

Yogesh Kumar is research scholar, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Agnes Kharshiing is a women's rights activist and president of the Civil Society Women's Organization from Meghalaya.

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth