Illegal coal mining and Meghalaya's killer black rat holes 

By Kyrenmang Uriah

It is literally a rat hole, that coal miners in Meghalaya go down into. It is in one such flooded rat hole that about 15 miners have been trapped since December 13. With the National Defence Response Force (NDRF) unable to pump out the water from the flooded mine even 10 days after the disaster, the miners, in all probability, literally drowned like rats in that illegal rat hole mine in East Jaintia hills district of the state. Sayeb Ali 21, from Panbari village in the Chirang district of Assam, the sole survivor of the December 13 accident, said that he earns more by entering the dangerous rat holes of Meghalaya than what he earns in his village.

This mine has been closed for years, since the National Green Tribunal had ordered a ban on all types of coal mining in Meghalaya on April 17, 2014, based on an application filed by the All Dimasa Students’ Union (ADSU) and Dima Hasao District Committee (DHDC) from Assam that claimed illegal rat-hole mining in the Jaintia hills was polluting the Kopili river. While retaining the ban, the NGT has since allowed transportation of coal already extracted, estimated in May at about 1.76 lakh tons. Meanwhile, at least five petitions by mine owners are pending in the Supreme Court, questioning the ban.

Much of Meghalaya’s coal production was from this now banned method, Rat Hole Mining. Which involves digging pits ranging from five to 100 metres deep vertically into the ground, mostly on a hill side, like a narrow well, to reach the coal seam. Miners can only enter one at a time. At the bottom is dug out a small room sized area. From this area, miners dig tunnels sideways to reach the coal seam and extract it. The sideways digging, the rat hole, is manually done, totally haphazard and runs in all directions. The coal thus dug is then extracted via a horizontal tunnel. If the mine is near, or even below the level of a nearby river, as the December 13 flooded mine was, the slightest breach of the walls close to the river can cause catastrophic flooding, which NDRF personnel theorise is probably what happened.

Meghalaya has total coal reserves of 640 million tonnes, most of which is mined unscientifically by individuals and communities. As a result, the water sources of many rivers, especially in Jaintia Hills district, have turned acidic. Majority of the mines are privately owned and illegal coal mining is rampant. The NGT appointed judicial commission under the chairmanship of B P Kakoti reported that satellite data presented to the committee by the NESAC (North Eastern Space Applications Centre) revealed mining activities were going on even after the ban. As per official government data, over 1,000 cases were registered for illegal coal mining and transportation (from when to when?)

Meghalaya police records available online reveal that from April 2014 to November 7, 2018, there have been at least 477 reported cases of violation of NGT’s orders. These violations include illegal coal mining, illegal transportation, and transporting coal beyond the permissible limit. This year, there have been at least 40 reported cases so far mainly concerning illegal coal transportation. Truck drivers, handymen and coal mine labourers were arrested, while complaints against government officials for facilitating illegal coal transportation have gone nowhere. The reported cases are from the coal-rich belts and transit routes encompassing East Jaiñtia Hills, West Jaiñtia Hills, East Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills, South West Khasi Hills, Ri Bhoi, and East, West and South Garo Hills districts. And while the state government claims it has lost Rs 416 crore because of the mining ban, it is tightlipped about the various reports that have alleged that politicians, bureaucrats, and other government officials including senior policemen are engaged in coal mining.

The state government is also tightlipped about the fact mine workers work under the most inhumane conditions. The NGT has found that the rules of safe mineral exploration while ‘rat-hole’ mining have not been implemented by mine owners despite the increase in the number of reported deaths of mine workers. There has also been little effort from the government, NGOs or coalmine owners in spreading awareness among workers, or giving them any sort of training, about safety requirements. Also, non-implementation of the mineral policy and relevant labour laws has enabled mine owners to totally ignore miners’ safety in order to make a quick buck. The miners, mostly poor migrant workers, are drawn to the possibility of earning upto Rs 2000 rupees per day to dig those life threatening rat roles.

G K Srivastav, Joint General Secretary of All India Coal Workers Federation (AICWF), says that the mines in Meghalaya are completely illegal and run by coal mafias. “Those who work in these mines are exposed to health hazards as there is no consultation with the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS), the Indian Government Regulatory agency for safety in mines and oil-fields,” said Srivastava. The state government has also been negligent by not carrying out regular inspections and by putting the onus for this on the central government. He also spoke about the Standing Committee on Mine Safety being unable to put an end to illegal mining. “We have repeatedly told the government that in private mines, there is a violation of safety guidelines. But they do not allow any safety representatives to inspect these private mines. There are so many guidelines, but it is the responsibility of the administration to implement them. When the administration is patronizing these coal mafias, who can save these workers?”

Just how unsafe these mines are were highlighted in a ‘Citizens’ Report’ to Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae Colin Gonsalves: “A worker carries with him a pickaxe, a shovel and a wheelbarrow. As the cave is dark, he carries a torch… If water has seeped into the cave, the worker can enter only after the water is pumped out. Workers usually enter the cave early in the morning and keep on working till they are tired, or hungry or when they feel that they have earned enough money for the day.”

But as survivor Sayid Ali said, “"I know the mines are a danger to our lives but we have no option since we earn a good income digging coal,” A theme echoed by every miner this reporter spoke to. Like Vivek Rana 32 of Nepal who came to the coal mines of Jaintia Hills when he was 18 years, like his friends before him. “It does not matter if the work is dangerous as long as I can send money to my family in Nepal”. “A day’s work in a dhaba will not fetch us more than Rs 300,” said Ram Rai who had worked in Delhi. “Working in the coal mines, we are paid from Rs 1000 to Rs 2000 per day. Illiterate and poor, we work so that we can have a bright future despite the dangers”.

Meanwhile, speaking over phone, Rofiot Zaman a family member of Abul Kalam Sheikh a victim from Magurmari village, Rajabala under West Garo Hills district said that the family wants the body of their child. “His parents and siblings are inconsolable, he has a one-year
old child,” Zaman said. He said that there are seven people from his village trapped inside the mine. A relative of Chal Dkhar of Meghalaya, east jaintia hills, another trapped miner, said that they have been involved in this work for a very long time and the whole family is dependent on it. “We are poor and through this job we get money for our daily needs. We never expected that such a fate will befall us”.

(EOM)