Coal racket: Cong. seeks withdrawal of petition against Meghalaya Lokayukta order

Shillong, Feb. 26 (PTI): The opposition Congress has demanded withdrawal of the state government’s petition, filed before the Meghalaya High Court, against the Lokayukta order for a CBI probe into the alleged coal racket.

Former chief minister and leader of opposition Mukul Sangma alleged that the MDA government, backed by the BJP, has been “instrumental in delaying the process of investigation as a tactic to destroy all the evidence”.

Last month, the Lokayukta had ordered a CBI probe into the scam and subsequently, the state government had filed the petition against the order.

“Our party will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the government withdraws its petition,” Sangma said on Tuesday.

He also wanted to know “what prompted the state government to challenge the order of the Lokayukta before the High Court and whom they want to defend”.

The purpose of having the Lokayukta is to ensure corruption-free governance, he said.

Reiterating that there is a “big cartel” operating to facilitate illegal mining and transportation of coal, Sangma said, “This cartel seems to be getting all the necessary protection which is being provided by the government by way of preventing the anti-graft body to proceed ahead with the investigation.”

The leader of opposition said that the officers, who are under control of the state government, should not be a part of the investigation team.

The Congress leader also alleged the NPP-led government “doesn’t seem to be interested in constituting the full body of the Lokayukta”.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had recently removed his brother James K Sangma as the home minister of the state in view of alleged discontentment expressed by other ministers against him.

The coalition partners of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government have been demanding the removal of James K Sangma as home minister over his alleged involvement in illegal transportation of coal.

The National Green Tribunal had banned unscientific and unsafe rat-hole mining of coal in Meghalaya in 2014, though it intermittently allowed transportation of already mined coal from time to time.

Rat-hole mining involves digging of narrow tunnels, usually 3-4 feet high, for workers to enter and extract coal.

The horizontal tunnels are often termed “rat-holes”, as each just about fits one person.