During a press conference, the state of Arunachal Pradesh’s Arunachal Democratic Party called for an investigation into the suspected illicit coal mining operations occurring in the Changlang district. The Arunachal Democratic Party insisted that the Arunachal Pradesh government form an investigation committee to look into the illicit coal mining that is taking place in Changlang district. Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, ADP general secretary Kipa Natung asserted that, despite being a source of income for the hill state, the state’s Namchik-Namphuk coal mine is in danger because of illicit activity.
He noted that even though the Supreme Court of India halted coal extraction in 2012 after ruling that 204 coal block allocations made between 1993 and 2011 were unlawful and capricious, coal mining continues, completely violating the SC’s mandate. He said that despite the district administration’s creation of an Anti-Rat Hole Mining Oversight Committee to monitor illicit mining in several subdivisions, the committee filed a fabricated report asserting that Tirap, Changlang, and Longding districts were free of unlawful activity.
According to Natung, Tasar Talar, the mining director, denied any illicit coal mining when the ADP team visited with him to get the truth. He revealed that in addition to the SDO (mining), RFO, police station OC, and assistant mining division officer of the Kharsang subdivision of the district, a formal complaint has also been filed with the Special Investigation Cell against the committee members.
