Shillong, September 23: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Wednesday said the inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution would be a victory for the people of the state and should not be seen as a political achievement of any particular party.
Reacting to suggestions that the eight UDP legislators who recently joined the BJP were seeking credit for pursuing the language demand with the Centre and for efforts to resolve the coal mining issue, Sangma said the priority should be achieving the desired outcome. “It is wrong to think of it as credit. What is important is to achieve the goal. Everybody has a role to play. Right now, we don’t know what the stand of the Government of India is, whether they are going to include the languages or not. If it goes through, it is not about BJP or NPP, but it is the victory of the people of Meghalaya,” Sangma said.
The Chief Minister said he would be among the happiest people if Khasi and Garo are included in the Eighth Schedule, irrespective of who succeeds in taking the matter forward with the Centre. Sangma also said he was not interested in gaining political limelight and was more concerned about finding solutions to issues affecting the state. “I don’t look at anything as limelight. For me, it is more important to find a solution to the problems. If a solution can be found, that gives me more happiness and satisfaction,” he said.
On the coal mining issue, Sangma said Meghalaya has made progress since the Supreme Court’s 2019 judgment, though several challenges remain before mining can be carried out on a wider scale. “We fought the case in 2019 and the Supreme Court gave a verdict in our favour and lifted the ban, but with the condition that everything should be done in a scientific manner following the MMDR Act,” he said.
He pointed out that mining under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act requires compliance with several conditions, including requirements relating to land area, scientific mining methods and other technical norms. “Because of the kind of coal seams we have, it is not viable for many miners to move forward. We have four mines functional as of now. So, have we moved forward? Yes. Have we been able to resolve all issues concerning all miners? Maybe not yet,” Sangma said.
He added that the government also has to take into account environmental concerns, safety standards and the protection of miners while working towards resolving the remaining issues. “These require a lot of scientific and technical aspects to be looked into and those are being resolved one by one,” the Chief Minister added.
