The 35th interim report by Justice (Retd.) B.P. Katakey reveals that 37,449.53 metric tonnes (MT) of coal are missing in Meghalaya after a verification following an aerial survey conducted by M/s Garuda UAV Soft Solutions Pvt. Ltd. The aerial survey detected 1,92,840.13 MT of coal in 1,898 dumps, while physical verification by district administrations located only 1,55,390.6 MT in 1,889 dumps, indicating a significant shortfall.
District-wise findings include:
- East Jaintia Hills: Initially identified 1,80,299.48 MT in 1,572 dumps; only 1,43,939 MT found, a discrepancy of 36,360.48 MT.
- West Khasi Hills: 11,707.99 MT detected in 280 dumps; officials verified and found 11,446 MT, leaving a shortfall of 261.99 MT.
- South West Khasi Hills: Recorded 797.65 MT in 37 dumps, but verification covered only 28 dumps, recovering just 5.6 MT, indicating a loss of 792.05 MT; details on unvisited sites were not provided.
- South Garo Hills: Officials found no coal in nine dumps reported to contain 35.01 MT, attributing its disappearance to potential washing away by heavy rainfall.
The Commission directed that the recovered coal be immediately transported to relevant district depots to mitigate further losses and recommended auctioning it with court permission. It emphasized the necessity of timely FIR registrations for the missing coal and called for expedited investigations into illegal mining operations to hold perpetrators accountable.
