In Meghalaya, with the survey, the hopes of Rat Carbon Mining in article 371

Rat holes mines are seen in the district of Meghalaya of eastern Joints Hills. Archive. | Photo credit: Rij Konwar Ritu

Guwahati

A regional party in Meghalaya, bound for the survey, has indicated that leading to the State under the scope of article 371 could help resume the coal mining of rat holes, which has been prohibited since April 2014.

Article 371 of the Constitution of India grants special powers to certain states.

The strong Pilar Kharjaha, one of the candidates of the Voice of the People (VPP) party, cited Nagaland’s example to find article 371 for Meghalaya. Nagaland specific, article 371A has special provisions that guarantee the protection of the land and its resources, apart from the law and the customary procedure of NAGA.

Also read | The largest opposition party of Meghalaya omits the tribal council surveys

Kharjana is disputing the circumscription of Mawkhar-Pynthorumkhrah of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (Khadc), where the elections are scheduled for February 21. The Elections to the Autonomous District Council of Jaintia Hills (JHADC) will also be held the same day.

The two tribal tips have 30 seats each, but the elections are held in 29, while the governor pays attention to a member.

Stating that rat hole mining is a rampant in Nagaland, Kharjana said the National Green Court (NGT) cannot interfere with mining coal activities in Nagaland due to article 371a.

The NGT prohibited the mining of rat holes in Meghalaya in 2014. The ban, confirmed by the Supreme Court, extended to other areas of the Northeast.

“We understand that the sixth calendar of the Constitution of India empowers a district council to make laws on the allocation of land, social customs, forests, etc., but paragraph 12 of this schedule allows the State Law to prevail over that of the District Council. If there is any conflict, ”said Kharjaha.

“The center cannot impose any central law if we have article 371 as Nagaland,” he said, adding that the VPP would focus on article 371 during the 2028 assembly elections in Meghalaya.

In February 2024, Nagaland’s Prime Minister Neiphiu Rio told the Assembly that article 371a has been the main obstacle in the efforts of the state government to regulate illegal mining activities of illegal carbon on a small scale.

Opposite vision

Except for the VPP and the Congress, which advocated the incorporation of some provisions of article 371 so that the sixth schedule was more powerful, the other parties agreed that the two constitutional provisions were incompatible.

“There is no possibility that article 371 is the sixth annex is in operation. The two cannot coexist in a single system, ”said the United Democratic Party leader and Meghalaya Tourism Minister, said Paul Lyngdoh after the VPP spokesman, Batskhem Myrboh, argued why Meghalaya needs article 371.

The discussions on article 371 were intensified a week after the coal controller under the ministry of coal signed three guarantee deposit agreements with the proponents of the project for mining sites in three locations: Pynengshalang in West Khasi Hills, Saryngkham in Jointia Hills and Lumiakhi Wahsarang in this district of Jaintia Hills.

“These agreements are a crucial step to begin the scientific operations of coal mining to boost the economy, provide employment opportunities and improve the livelihoods of people,” said Prime Minister Conrad K. Sangma.

Few female contestants

The Khadc and the JHADC cover areas dominated by matrilineal communities, the Khasi and Jintias respectively, but less than 7% of the candidates who dispute the elections to these councils are women.

According to the data provided by the State’s electoral authority, 19 of the 272 candidates in the two councils are women. Twelve of the 158 candidates for the Khadc and seven of 114 candidates for the JHADC are women.

However, both tips have more female voters than men. While the KhadC has 5,15,247 women and 4.81,268 male voters, the JHADC has 1,61,220 women and 1.51,079 male voters. There are four third genre voters in these tips.

February 24 is the date of counting votes.