Shillong, May 11: Former cabinet minister and Kyrmen Shylla on Monday stressed that the livelihood of people in East Jaintia Hills is heavily dependent on coal mining and called for the introduction of regulated scientific underground mining in the region.
Speaking to reporters, Shylla said development in the district must go hand in hand with the protection of livelihoods.
“In East Jaintia Hills, we appreciate development but more than that we need our livelihood. Our livelihood stands on coal,” he said.
The UDP legislator further stated that the people of the region would support any political party that safeguards their means of livelihood.
“If there is a time that a party, any party, who could promise and deliver, I believe my people will stand with that,” he said, adding, “If somebody does good to us, we repay them back with good things.”
Shylla argued that scientific mining should not be limited only to open-cast mining, which he said is not practical in East Jaintia Hills because of the deep coal seams in the area.
“Scientific doesn’t mean only open cast. It even means underground mining,” he said.
He stated that although the mining methods used in the past may not have been fully scientific, certain scientific elements were already in practice and only needed proper regulation and safety measures.
“The technology we have used all these days, though not 100 percent scientific, has had some science introduced. We just need to bring it into a proper way of mining and bring safety measures for miners,” he added.
Explaining the challenges of open-cast mining in the district, Shylla said the depth of coal seams makes such operations nearly impossible.
“Open cast is quite difficult because the seam is quite deep down. When the depth is too high it is next to impossible,” he said.
“If within 10 meters, it’s still feasible for open cast. But here it is more than 10 meters, sometimes even 100 meters. So, this is not possible,” he added.
While acknowledging that some open-cast mining licenses have already been issued and operations started in certain areas, the former minister said mine owners are facing numerous difficulties and the benefits have yet to reach the people.
“Those who have got licenses know the reality of it. And as of now we have not seen that this contributes to the people,” he said.
Shylla urged the government and concerned authorities to permit a different model of regulated underground mining in the region.
“That’s why we request the government and the authorities to give us a different way of mining,” he said.
Referring to the controversial rat-hole mining practice, he said certain legal amendments could help transform traditional mining into a safer and regulated underground mining system.
“Previously what we call rat-hole mining, when we look into different Acts, a few changes need to be done. The same way of mining, if it can be introduced, we can call it underground mining,” he stated.
“For us the most feasible mining is underground mining,” he added.
The legislator also called for expert guidance in framing proper mining practices and safety standards.
“We need experts to give us suggestions so that we can prepare what needs to be done and the government will give us the rights to go ahead with underground mining,” he said.
Shylla maintained that scientific mining should focus on protecting both miners and the environment while ensuring sustainable extraction of coal.
“When you do something to protect the livelihood, to protect the lives of the miners and to extract coal in a proper way and help the environment, that is the kind of scientific mining we want,” he added.
