SHILLONG: Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma expressed optimism on Wednesday (February 21), stating that the state is poised to commence scientific coal mining from the upcoming financial year.
During the debate on the governor’s address, the Meghalaya chief minister revealed that the preparations for initiating scientific mining were well underway.
He noted, “We are awaiting the final environmental clearance, and the public hearing should occur within 45-60 days.”
Sangma further asserted, “We are confident that in the next financial year, we will witness the commencement of actual scientific mining.”
Notably, as Meghalaya gears up for the implementation of open-cast progressive scientific mining of coal, experts from the Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL) believe that the environmental impact on vegetation and forest cover would have been relatively minimal compared to improvised rat-hole mining methods.