News of the Day – SC bans transportation of extracted coal

SC bans transportation of extracted coal lying at various sites in Meghalaya

The Supreme Court on Tuesday banned the transportation of extracted coal lying at various sites in Meghalaya which has had no success in rescuing 15 miners trapped inside an illegal rat-hole coal mine for almost a month.

The order was passed by a bench comprising justices A.K. Sikri and S.A. Nazeer which refused the plea of miners to allow them to transport the extracted coal at various places.

The bench issued notice to the Meghalaya Government, the Centre and others seeking their response on various issues connected with coal mining in the state and posted the matter for hearing February 19.

“Till the next date of hearing there would not be any transportation of any coal lying on the sites,” the bench said.

During the hearing, the bench also asked senior advocate Shekhar Naphade and the advocate general of Meghalaya, Amit Kumar, as to why the state has not been able to stop illegal and unauthorised mining.

When the law officer said that the state government was trying its best to control illegal mining, the bench expressed its displeasure by citing the tragedy in which 15 miners have not been rescued.

The court said that this incident shows that illegal mining continues unabated despite the ban and the state may not be supporting it but has failed to contain illegal mining.

The top court was hearing pleas filed by several coal miners seeking permission to transport extracted coal which was lying unattended at various places in the state.

However, their plea was opposed by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, who has been appointed as an amicus curiae in the case, saying that illegal mining in the state was continuing in the name of transportation of coal.

He referred to the report of the committee headed by retired high court judge in which officials of state government admitted about illegal coal mining.

The report of the three-member committee, headed by retired Justice B P Kakoti of Gauhati High Court, has stated that there were around 24,000 mines in Meghalaya and majority of them were operating illegally.

It also said not only were there no licences or leases, but also no environmental clearance for operation of majority of the coal mines.

The NGT had constituted the committee in August 2018 to supervise and look into the issue of environmental restoration plan and other connected matters in Meghalaya.

The committee was constituted during the hearing of the petition which had sought a ban on coal mining in Meghalaya. It had also taken into account some reports of the state pollution control board.

British MPs reject May’s Brexit deal; no-confidence vote today

British lawmakers defeated Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit divorce deal by a crushing margin on Tuesday, triggering political upheaval that could lead to a disorderly exit from the EU or even to a reversal of the 2016 decision to leave.

Parliament voted 432-202 against her deal, the worst parliamentary defeat for a government in recent British history. Scores of her own lawmakers — both Brexiteers and supporters of EU membership — joined forces to vote down the deal.

Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn promptly called a vote of no confidence in Ms. May’s government, to be held within 24 hours.

With the clock ticking down to March 29, the date set in law for Brexit, the United Kingdom is now ensnared in the deepest political crisis in half a century as it grapples with how, or even whether, to exit the European project that it joined in 1973.

Ms. May’s crushing loss, the first British parliamentary defeat of a treaty since 1864, marks the collapse of her two-year strategy of forging an amicable divorce with close ties to the EU after the March 29 exit.

 “It is clear that the House does not support this deal, but tonight’s vote tells us nothing about what it does support,” May told parliament, moments after the result was announced.

“We need to confirm whether this government still enjoys the confidence of this House,” Ms. May said.

Ms. May said parliament had spoken and the government had listened. The small Northern Irish DUP party, which props up her minority government and had said it would oppose the deal, said it would still back May in the no confidence vote.

The EU said the Brexit deal remained the best and only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal from the EU.

The Brexit deal is basically dead, said Anand Menon, professor of European politics and foreign affairs at Kings College London.

Crossroads

Ever since Britain voted by 52-48 percent to leave the EU in a referendum in June 2016, the political class has been debating how to leave the European project forged by France and Germany after the devastation of World War Two.

While the country is divided over EU membership, most agree that the world’s fifth largest economy is at a crossroads and that its choices over Brexit will shape the prosperity of future generations.

Before the vote, Ms. May had warned pro-Brexit lawmakers that if her plan was rejected, it was more likely that Britain would not leave the EU at all than that it would leave without a deal.

She has also warned fellow Conservatives not to let the opposition Labour Party seize control of Brexit.

Supporters of EU membership cast Brexit as a gigantic mistake that will undermine the West, smash Britain’s reputation as a stable destination for investment and slowly weaken London’s position as a global capital.

Many opponents of Brexit hope Ms. May’s defeat will ultimately lead to another referendum on EU membership, though Brexiteers say that thwarting the will of the 17.4 million who voted for Brexit could radicalise much of the electorate.

Brexit supporters cast leaving as a way to break free from a Union they see as overly bureaucratic and fast falling behind the leading economic powers of the 21st century, the United States and China.

Source – The Hindu

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