Nagaland: NGT closes case on Wokha coal mining incident

July 17, 2024 7 Views No Comment

Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 17

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata, on 10 July, disposed of matters related to the mining incident on January 25, 2025 in Ruchan village, under Wokha district, which claimed six lives and injured four others.

The cause of the incident is believed to be a fire inside the rathole mine.

The judgment order issued by Justice B Amit Sthalekar, Judicial Member, and Dr Arun Kumar Verma, Expert Member, noted that, as per the affidavits submitted by the respondents and the documents on record, there is nothing further remaining for adjudication in the present Original Application, and accordingly, it was disposed of.

Among others, the Tribunal reached this conclusion after noting that ex-gratia payments had been made to the kin of the deceased and the injured, while notices had been issued to the coal mine owners to cease all unlicensed coal mining activities immediately.

Furthermore, according to a report from the Geologist & Wokha District In-charge, Directorate of Geology & Mining, Government of Nagaland dated May 29, no coal mining activity has been reported in the notified mines to date, it said.

Among other factors, the NGT relied on a counter affidavit submitted by the DC Wokha on June 28 listing various chains of events since the January 25 incident.

The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Wokha also attended the July 10 virtual hearing.

Case Background:
The NGT Principal Bench, New Delhi, took up the case suo-motu on February 29, 2024 based on a news item regarding the incident.

Subsequently, notices were issued to the Nagaland Pollution Control Board (NPCB); Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate, Wokha; and Directorate General of Mines Safety as respondents. The case was later transferred to the NGT Eastern Bench, which conducted its first hearing on April 30 and scheduled the matter for July 10.

As reported earlier by The Morung Express, the NPCB stated in its May 21 affidavit that the Board has no role in granting mining leases in Nagaland. Additionally, no applications for Consent to Establish (CTE) or Consent to Operate (CTO) were filed before the Board by the landowner, it added.

The Directorate General of Mines Safety, in its submission on May 29, stated that that the existence of the mine in question and/or the occurrence of the accident was not informed by Nagaland Government Authorities, deeming the mine to be illegal.

In its affidavit dated June 28, the DC Wokha reported that immediately after the mining incident, the District Administration, along with police personnel and medical staff, visited the site.

A suo-motu case was registered at the Bhandar Police Station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for thorough investigation of the incident.

However, the charge-sheet/final report is yet to be filed by the investigating agency.

The Tribunal was informed that ex-gratia payments of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of the six deceased and Rs 16,000 each to the four injured persons have been disbursed.

Spot verification conducted to ensure strict compliance with notifications banning all illegal mining found no activity in all sites under Bhandari, stated the affidavit.

The DC also submitted an “Action Taken Report on Closure of Unlicensed Mines under Wokha District,” indicating closure notices were issued to 15 unlicensed mines/coal mine owners in the district to halt coal mining activities immediately.

Subsequently, no coal mining activity has been reported in the notified mines to date, it added.

The DC Wokha further assured to conduct periodic physical verifications to prevent illegal mining without valid licenses from the Government.