NEW DELHI: In a decisive move to strengthen cooperative federalism and safeguard indigenous rights, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma met today with Union Minister of Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy, in New Delhi.
At the heart of the meeting was a pivotal demand: to devolve powers under Section 26 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, directly to the State of Meghalaya.
Accompanied by Santa Mary Shylla, MLA for Sutnga Saipung (East Jaintia Hills), Sangma forcefully advanced Meghalaya’s unique constitutional status as a core issue in national policymaking. Chief Minister Sangma’s advocacy hinges on Meghalaya’s designation as a Sixth Schedule State.
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Unlike most of India, where sub-surface minerals are government property, in Meghalaya, land and mineral rights reside with individuals, clans, and local communities. This distinctive ownership structure was unequivocally affirmed by the Supreme Court in a landmark 2019 judgment, which ruled that while tribal communities must comply with the MMDR Act to extract coal, they retain absolute control over their resources.
Sangma argued that the current centralized regulatory framework—including the 2021 Standard Operating Procedure mandating a minimum concession area of 100 hectares—ignores the region’s realities, where coal seams are thin, scattered, and typically held in small family parcels. He called on the Centre to transfer the authority for granting approvals and clearing mining plans to the state, aligning federal processes with tribal land tenure systems.
The meeting ended on a constructive note, with the Union Minister proposing the immediate formation of a dedicated committee to scrutinize the state’s formal representation and technical note. This step signals a potential breakthrough in Meghalaya’s long-standing quest for localized control over its natural resources.
(4FrontMedia news)
