The collapse of a coal mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills, trapping at least 15 workers who are still missing and are feared dead, has thrown the spotlight on a procedure known as “rat-hole mining”. Although banned by the National Green Tribunal in 2014 and upheld by the Supreme Court, it remains the prevalent procedure for coal mining in Meghalaya.

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Rathole mining involves digging of very small tunnels, usually only 3-4 feet high, which workers (often children) enter and extract coal. It is broadly of two types.

• Side-cutting procedure:Narrow tunnels are dug on the hill slopes and workers go inside until they find the coal seam. The coal seam in hills of Meghalaya is very thin, less than 2 m in most cases.
• Box-cuttingprocedure:A rectangular opening is made, varying from 10 to 100 sq. m, and through that is dug a vertical pit, 100 to 400 feet deep. Once the coal seam is found, rat-hole-sized tunnels are dug horizontally through which workers can extract the coal.

NGT ban on Rathole Mining:

                The National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned it in 2014, and retained the ban in 2015, on grounds of it being unscientific and unsafe for workers.The NGT order bans not only rat-hole mining but all “unscientific and illegal mining”. The court placed much emphasis on a report of O P Singh, professor of environmental studies of North Eastern Hills University of Shillong that explained the grave environmental concerns and health concerns.

Major issues associated with Rathole Mining:

Ecology:

• In their petition to the NGT, Assam’s All Dimasa Students’ Union and the Dima Hasao District Committee complained that rat-hole mining in Meghalaya had caused the water in the Kopili river (it flows through Meghalaya and Assam) to turn acidic.
• No biological lives are seen in the river. The rocks in the river bed turned yellowish, which also indicates flow of acid mine drainage
• Ecologically Sensitive Zones are being degraded due to increased mining activities.
• Entire roadsides in and around mining areas are used for piling of coal which is a major source of air, water and soil pollution.
• Off road movement of trucks and other vehicles in the area caused further damage to the fragile ecology of the area which lies in the Zone 5 seismic area.

Risk to lives:

• During the rainy season, water floods into the mining areas resulting in death of many employees/workers.
• Health hazards due to poisonous gases like Hydrogen Sulphide, Methane can cause instant death of miners.
• The lack of regulations, treacherous work conditions lead to over-work and meagre pay.

Economic:

• According to government reports, the coal mining industry was among the biggest revenue earners for the state, generating about Rs. 700 crore annually, prior to its ban in 2014.
• The value of extracted coal stored in Meghalaya was officially estimated at over Rs. 3,078 crore four years ago.
• The Katoki panel reported that nearly 24,000 illegal mines are present in Meghalaya as interpreted from satellite images.

Reasons for its continuance:

Loopholes in the law:

• The ban has been rendered meaningless by the Supreme court-sanctioned permission to transport “already-mined” coal till January 2019. Mine owners have used this loophole to continue mining operations illegally.
• The State of Meghalaya has promulgated a mining policy of 2012, which does not deal with rat-hole mining, but on the contrary, deprecates it.
• Meghalaya comes under the 6th Schedule of Constitution. The provisions allow for community ownership of land and autonomy over its use. However they are taken over by private players and tribals are left helpless.

Lack of Political and Executive will:

• The unholy nexus of Politicians and Contractors: About 33% of political candidates have stakes in coal mining and transport companies, thus lobbying against the ban order.
• A committee (headed by Retired Justice B.P. Katoki) appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has blamed poor implementation of NGT order by executive.
• The committee revealed that the state government shockingly has no records about the rat-hole mines, number of workers involved and any other data relating to death or injuries to the workers.

Geological Conditions:

• No other method would be economically viable in Meghalaya, where the coal seam is extremely thin unlike that in Jharkhand (where open-cast mining is followed).
• Sustainable extraction methods are likely to be technology-intensive and expensive. Not the preferred option of mine owners, legal and otherwise.

Lack of Alternate Sources of Livelihood:

• It takes long to locate the quarry as local people were scared to divulge information, fearing a backlash from mine owners and lose their livelihood.
• It gives quick money for day-to-day survival.
• It is a cheap method for the mine owners to extract coal and presence of abundance of Migrant labour.

Way Forward:

• The Supreme Court must rectify this situation by banning transport of all coal, or by lifting the ban but enforcing regulation to make the mining non-polluting and safe.
• The State mining policy should include ways of alternative towards Rathole mining.
• The Schedule VI provisions must be implemented in true letter and spirit by granting community ownership rights. Involvement of Autonomous District and Regional Councils to further implement the orders is needed.
• Alternative employment or economic engagement for the coal mine owners and labourers must be provided. g.: MGNREGA.
• Strict implementation of Child labour prevention laws and Right to Education Act for the children involved in mining.
• Use of Satellite imagery and drone technology to find the locations of illegal mines as suggested by BP Katoki committee.
• Involvement of Social Activists, NGO’s and Local communityand education of the people about perils of rathole mining.

Conclusion:

The road ahead is to restore the environmentally degraded areas and rehabilitate exploited labour force.