Environment Expert Highlights Risks of Unregulated Mining Amid Assam Coal Mine Disaster Trapping 15 Miners

Naba Bhattacharjee highlighted that unsafe mining practices, especially in unregulated areas, continue to pose severe risks to both miners and the environment.

Naba Bhattacharjee, Chairman of the State Expert Appraisal Committee on Environment (SEAC) in Meghalaya and representative of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC), has raised serious concerns over the risks of unregulated mining, drawing parallels between the ongoing coal mine disaster in Assam’s Dima Hasao district and the tragedy in a flooded rat-hole coal mine in Meghalaya’s Ksan area on December 13, 2018, which claimed 19 lives.

Speaking exclusively to Northeast Live, Bhattacharjee referenced the ongoing disaster in Assam, where 15 miners have been trapped for over 34 hours, noting the similarities to the Ksan incident.

“In Meghalaya, particularly in Jaintia Hills and South Garo Hills, we have seen similar mining tragedies where over 19 lives were lost, but their bodies were not found. Now, in Assam’s Dima Hasao, bordering Meghalaya, we are witnessing a similar situation,” said Bhattacharjee.

He highlighted that unsafe mining practices, especially in unregulated areas, continue to pose severe risks to both miners and the environment.

He called for the adoption of scientific mining techniques, which he believed would significantly reduce such hazards.

He said that scientific mining requires detailed plans, strict regulatory approvals, and continuous monitoring to ensure both safety and sustainability.

He also emphasised the environmental consequences of unscientific mining, particularly in the Eastern Himalayas region, which spans from Arunachal Pradesh to Himachal Pradesh, and covers the northeastern states.

“Unscientific mining has a profound impact on the environment, particularly on water bodies and safety. The region is interconnected, and the risks cross borders, with areas like the Kopili River being affected. In Meghalaya, rat hole mining, which has been banned, shares similar characteristics with the practices in Assam,” Bhattacharjee added.

“I do not know whether the mining in Dima Hasao is scientific or approved by the Ministry of Coal or Mines, but similar mining practices were banned by the NGT in Meghalaya back in 2014,” said Bhattacharjee.

Speaking about the allegation that alleged illegal coal mining is still going on in Meghalaya, he said that illegal mining in Meghalaya has considerably been reduced because of the High Court’s intervention and also the vigilance of the officials concerned.

He also said that the Meghalaya government is insisting that scientific mining be done by all which only will bring down such sort of illegal mining sporadic which is happening.

It may be mentioned here that the coal mining tragedy took place at 8 AM yesterday in Kalamati in Umrangso in Dima Hasao.

According to sources, sudden flow of large quantity of water from an unused nearby coal mine had seeped into the rat-hole coal mine, trapping 15 miners and making it impossible for them to come out of the tiny coal mine.

Read more about the Assam coal mine disaster here:

Assam Coal Mine Disaster: Wife of Trapped Minor with 2-month Old Baby Pray for Husband’s Safe Return

Assam Coal Mine Disaster: 3 Miners Feared Dead

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