Meghalaya Government banned rat-hole coal mining & coal transportation in the State

State Government of Meghalaya on 14 May 2014 banned rat-hole mining and transportation of coal throughout the State. The order was issued by the State government to comply with an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

The Director General Police (DGP) of Meghalaya PJP Hanaman directed the Superintendents of Police and the Deputy Commissioners to implement the order of NGT in letter and spirit. Violators of the ban (if any) would be booked under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Background
The NGT on 17 April 2014 passed an ex-parte interim order to ban primitive and unscientific rat-hole coal mining and transportation of coal in the state. The order was passed on an application filed by All Dimasa Students’ Union and Dima Hasao District Committee from Assam on 2 April 2014.

Ex-parte interim order   
Ex-parte interim order is a legal proceeding brought by one person in the absence of and without representation or notification of other parties and is referred as improper unilateral contracts with a court. These orders are granted for temporary or interim custody or in extreme cases where order needs to be made right away for the safety and protection of the child.