Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Monday said the state government is actively negotiating to ease the 100-hectare land requirement for scientific coal mining, with efforts underway to reduce the threshold to as low as 10 hectares.
Speaking to reporters, Sangma acknowledged that most miners in Meghalaya operate on a small scale and may struggle to meet the current requirement.
“We have started negotiations, saying most of our miners are small-time miners. Can we reduce this criteria and bring it down to 10 hectares? The discussion is ongoing, and we will keep fighting and working,” he said.
He described the introduction of the licensing system and scientific mining framework as a major step forward, adding that the government is working to make the policy more practical.
“We will keep working to improve the system — reducing the number of hectares from 100 to maybe 50 or 40, if possible, even to 5 or 10,” he added.
Difficult Decision to Start the Process
Responding to questions, Sangma defended the government’s earlier acceptance of the 100-hectare requirement, calling it a difficult but necessary decision to kickstart legal coal mining.
He explained that Meghalaya’s unique landholding system required new laws and regulations.
“We were moving on an uncharted path and did not know the outcome,” he said.
According to the Chief Minister, the Centre had insisted that the 100-hectare requirement was non-negotiable if the state wanted “serious players” in the sector.
“I decided to let it start. We may not get everything we asked for immediately, but we will revisit the issue later,” he said.
He added that miners are currently being encouraged to collaborate and pool land to meet the requirement.
Hope for Relief for Small Miners
If revised, the proposed reduction could significantly benefit small-scale miners and help expand regulated and environmentally compliant coal mining in the state.