National Green Tribunal
News Item Titled Six Workers Killed In ... vs Nagaland Pollution Control Board on 10 July, 2024
Item No.06 Court No.1
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
EASTERN ZONE BENCH, KOLKATA
(THROUGH PHYSICAL HEARING WITH HYBRID MODE)
Original Application No.77/2024/EZ
(Earlier O.A. No.179/2024/PB)
News item titled "Six workers
killed in fire inside Nagaland
rat-hole coal mine" appearing in
The Hindu Bureau dated 27.01.2024 Applicant(s)
Versus
Nagaland Pollution Control Board & Ors. Respondent(s)
Date of hearing: 10.07.2024
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B. AMIT STHALEKAR, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE DR. ARUN KUMAR VERMA, EXPERT MEMBER
For Applicant(s) : Suo Motu
For Respondent(s) : Ms. Enatoli Sema, Adv. for R-2 (in Virtual Mode),
Mr. Ashok Prasad, Adv. for R-3 (in Virtual Mode)
ORDER
1. Affidavit dated 21.05.2024 has been filed on behalf of the Respondent No.1, Nagaland Pollution Control Board; the same is taken on record.
2. Affidavit dated 28.06.2024 has been filed on behalf of the Respondent No.2, Deputy Commissioner, Wokha, Nagaland; the same is taken on record.
3. Affidavit dated 29.05.2024 has been filed on behalf of the Respondent No.3, Director of Mines Safety, Eastern Zone, Sitarampur, Dhanbad, Jharkhand; the same is taken on record.
4. Mr. Furhesie Nyuwi, the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Wokha, Nagaland is present in Virtual proceedings. He states that he has written to the Government of Nagaland for appointment of Government Counsel but so far, he has not received any instructions in this regard. (Final order of the said case will be uploaded in website by separate sheets of paper.) ..................................... B. Amit Sthalekar, JM ............................................. Dr. Arun Kumar Verma, EM July 10, 2024, Original Application No.77/2024/EZ (Earlier OA No.179/2024/PB) SKB 0 Item No.06 Court No.1 BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL EASTERN ZONE BENCH, KOLKATA (THROUGH PHYSICAL HEARING WITH HYBRID MODE) Original Application No.77/2024/EZ (Earlier O.A. No.179/2024/PB) In the matter of:
Suo Motu News item titled "Six workers killed in fire inside Nagaland rat-hole coal mine" appearing in The Hindu Bureau dated 27.01.2024 ......Applicant(s) Versus
1. Nagaland Pollution Control Board, Through its Member Secretary, Signal Point, Dimapur, Nagaland - 797112;
2. Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate, Wokha, Orchid Colony, Wokha, Nagaland - 797111;
3. Directorate General of Mines Safety, Through its Director General Directorate General of Mines Safety Hirapur, Dhanbad, Jharkhand - 826001 .... Respondent(s) Date of hearing: 10.07.2024 CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B. AMIT STHALEKAR, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON'BLE DR. ARUN KUMAR VERMA, EXPERT MEMBER For Applicant(s) : Suo Motu For Respondent(s) : Ms. Enatoli Sema, Adv. for R-2 (in Virtual Mode), Mr. Ashok Prasad, Adv. for R-3 (in Virtual Mode) ORDER
1. Cognizance of the present case was taken up suo-motu by the Principal Bench, National Green Tribunal, New Delhi, as Original Application No.179/2024 on 29.02.2022 on the basis of the news item titled "Six Workers killed in fire inside Nagaland rat-hole coal mine" published in "The Hindu Bureau" dated 27.01.2024.1
Thereafter the case has been transferred to the Eastern Bench of the Tribunal, Kolkata, and re-numbered as Original Application No. 77/2024/EZ.
2. The order dated 29.02.2024 passed by the New Delhi Bench of the National Green Tribunal reads as under:-
"1. This original application is registered suo-motu on the basis of the news item titled "Six workers killed in fire inside Nagaland rat-hole coal mine" published in "The Hindu Bureau" dated 27.01.2024. The news item reveals that six workers have been killed and four seriously injured after a fire broke out in a rat-hole coal mine in Wokha district of Nagaland. As per the said news item illegal rat-hole mining is in progress rampantly in the area concerned. Rat-hole mining entails a tunnel big enough for a mid-sized adult to crawl through, squat and extract coal with a pickaxe.
2. Supreme Court of India vide order dated 03.07.2019 in Civil Appeal No. 10720 of 2018 in the matter of State of Meghalaya Vs. All Dimasa Students Union, Dima Hasao Dist. Committee and Ors. has considered the issue of unregulated coal mining in the tribal areas of Meghalaya, which has resulted in not only loss of lives but damage to the environment of the area.
3. The Tribunal also by order dated 17.04.2014 in Original Application No. 73/2014 and M.A No. 174/2014 in the matter of All Dimasa Students Union Dima Hasao Dist. Committee Vs. State of Meghalaya & Ors. had expressed that such rat- hole illegal and unscientific mining can never be allowed in the interest of maintaining ecological balance of the country and safety of the employees. It was also noted that by such rat-hole mining neither the government nor the people are benefited but only the coal mafia derives the benefit.
4. The Tribunal in the above matter had held as under:-
"A reading of the said scientific study made by learned Professor on the subject shows an alarming situation 2 existing in the State of Meghalaya especially in the Jaintia Hills wherein the rathole mining has been in practice for a long time. We are of the considered view that such illegal and unscientific method can never be allowed in the interest of maintaining ecological balance of the country and safety of the employees. It is also brought to the notice this Tribunal that by such illegal mining of coal neither the Government nor the people of the country are benefitted. It is only the coal mafias who are getting benefit by following this sort of illegal activities.
We are of the considered view that this act should be condemned and in any event such illegal activities are to be put to an end and the State of Meghalaya should come forward with an appropriate scheme and the statutory rules. Even though, in this application the applicant has restricted himself in respect of rat-hole mining operations in Jaintia Hills of the State of Meghalaya, we are of the view that if in the entire State of Meghalaya such illegal and unscientific operations of rat-hole mining are taking place, the same shall also be put to an end in the interest of people of the area and also people working in the mines for their safety as also for the protection of environment.
Accordingly, while admitting the application, we direct the Chief Secretary, Government of Meghalaya and the Director General of Police, State of Meghalaya to ensure that rat-hole mining/illegal mining is stopped forthwith thought-out the State of Meghalaya and any illegal transport of coal shall not take place until further orders passed by this Tribunal. The Director General of Police, State of Meghalaya is also directed to report to this Tribunal about the compliance of the order by the next date of hearing."3
5. Hence, the news item raises substantial issue relating to compliance of the environmental norms.
6. Power of the Tribunal to take up the matter suo-motu has been recognized by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of "Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai vs. Ankita Sinha & Ors." reported in 2021 SCC Online SC 897.
7. In the circumstances of the case we implead the following as respondents in the matter:
(i) Nagaland Pollution Control Board, through its Member Secretary
(ii) Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate, Wokha
(iii) Directorate General of Mines Safety, through its Director General
8. Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, learned counsel accepts notice on behalf of respondent no. 1 and seeks four weeks' time to file the reply.
9. Let notice be issued to Respondents No. 2 and 3 to file their response atleast one week before the next date of hearing before the appropriate bench of the Tribunal.
10. Since the matter relates to the Eastern Zonal Bench, Kolkata, therefore, OA is transferred to the Eastern Zonal Bench for appropriate further action. Office is directed to transfer the original record of the OA to Eastern Zonal Bench, Kolkata.
11. List before Eastern Zone Bench at Kolkata on 30.04.2024."
3. The Respondent No.1, Nagaland Pollution Control Board has filed affidavit dated 21.05.2024 stating that the Board has no role in the matter of granting of mining leases in the State of Nagaland. It is stated that Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) are issued to those Applicants who have obtained 4 Environmental Clearances as required by law. It is also stated that in the present case there was no application for seeking Consent to Establish (CTE) or Consent to Operate (CTO) filed before the Board by the owner of the land who is alleged to have been carrying out mining operation when the unfortunate incident of death of six workers is reported to have occurred.
4. The Respondent No.3, Directorate General of Mines Safety, has filed affidavit dated 29.05.2024 wherein it is stated that the Owner, Agent or Manager of the Mine is required to submit "notice of opening" of the mine at least one month before the commencement of any mining operations to the Director General of Mines Safety in the prescribed form as required by the provisions of Section 16 of the Mines Act, 1952 and Regulation 3 of the Coal Mines Regulations, 2017.
5. It is also stated that in the event of an accident the Owner, Agent or Manager of the Mine must give "Notice of Accident/Inform the Director General of Mines about the accident by telephone, fax, email or by special messenger and shall within 24 hours of such occurrence, give notice thereof the Director General of Mines Safety as required under Section 23 of the Mines Act, 1952 and Regulation 8 of the Coal Mines Regulations, 2017.
6. The specific case of the Directorate General of Mines Safety is that in the present case neither notice of mining activity in question was ever given nor notice of the accident was submitted by the Owner, Agent or Manager of the Mine to the Directorate. It is also stated that the existence of the said mine and/or the occurrence of the accident was also not informed by the Nagaland Government 5 Authorities and, therefore, the mine in question may be considered as an illegal mine.
7. The Respondent No.2, Deputy Commissioner, Wokha, Nagaland, has filed affidavit dated 28.06.2024 wherein it is stated that on 25.01.2024 about 01:00 PM a mine incident occurred at Ruchan Village, Bhandari, believed to have been caused due to a fire inside the mine which led to the loss of lives of six laborers and burn injuries to four others. The District Administration along with police personnel and medical staff visited the place of occurrence. The Report on the Mine incident at Ruchan Village reads as under:-
"NO.GA-BDI/JUDL/2005/06/ Dated Bhandari the 26TH Jan 2024 REPORT ON MINE INCIDENT AT RUCHAN VILLAGE Ruchan village is situated 30 km away from Bhandari Hq. The tragic mine incident that occurred on 25-01-2024 at around 1:00 PM at Ruchan village led to loss of Six (6) lives and Four (4) suffered burnt injuries. All Ten (10) labourers are residents of Assam. The cause of the tragedy is believed due to the fire incident inside the mine.
On receiving the information at around 10:30 PM, a team consisting of administration, police and medical personnel rushed to the village and reached at around midnight. By the time the team reached the village, the deceased had been handed over to their respective families and the four injured persons had been taken to Dimapur for further treatment. The team met and interacted with the village council chairman about the tragedy and together visited the place of occurrence.
The deceased persons are:-
Sl. Father's Permanent Police
Name Age Village District
No. Name address station
1 Majibul 46 Duad Ali Sonapur Sonapur Uriamghat Golaghat
Ali village
2 Kamal 47 Devi Sonapur Sonapur Uriamghat Golaghat
Bahadur Bahadur village
Chhetri Chhetri
6
3 Bishal 28 Bol Sonapur Sonapur Uriamghat Golaghat
Thapa bahadur village
thapa
4 Dol 44 Dhan Sonapur Sonapur Uriamghat Golaghat
Bahadur Bahadur village
Chhetri Chhetri
5 Bikram 28 Purna Devipur Devipur Uriamghat Golaghat
Rai Bahadur village
Rai
6 Kharka 60 Ram Dakhin Dakhin Uriamghat Golaghat
Bahadur Bahadur Doyalpur Doyalpur
Chhetri Chhetri village
The injured persons are:-
Sl. Father's Permanent Police
Name Age Village District
No. Name address station
1 Santosh 23 Kharka Dakhin Dakhin Uriamghat Golaghat
Chhetri Bahadur Doyalpur Doyalpur
Chhetri Village
2 Ramesh 36 Jogdar Sonapur Sonapur Uriamghat Golaghat
Chhetri Chhetri Village
3 Bhupen 34 Bhushen Lakhipur Lakhipur Uriamghat Golaghat
Rajbongs Rajbongshi Village
hi
4 Lok Nath 27 Mon Sonapur Sonapur Uriamghat Golaghat
Chhetri Bahadur Village
Chhetri
8. It is stated that a suo-motu case was registered at the Bhandar Police Station vide P.S. C/No.02/24 under Section 304A/336/325/34 IPC for thorough investigation of the same, however, charge-sheet/final report of the same is yet to be filed by investigating agency.
9. It is further stated that Ex-gratia payment to next of kin of the deceased and persons who have sustained injuries due to the coal mine (fire) incident at Ruchan Village was initiated and payment has been disbursed. The names of the deceased and the amount disbursed reads as under:-
SL. NAME OF Deceased AADHAR IFSC CODE ACCOUNT NO. NAME AMOUNT NO. BENEFICIARY NO. OF BANK 7 1 Rejina Begum Majibal Ali 7302 9929 PUNB0RRBAGB 7233026007925 Assam 400000 5200 Gramin Vikash Bank 2 Anjumaya Kamal 6483 9665 PUNB0712320 1723201700029 PUNJAB 400000 Thapa Chetry Bahadur 6696 587 BANK Chetry 3 Binud Thapa Bishal 4235 8925 PUNB0172320 1723201700046 PUNJAB 400000 Thapa 5247 548 BANK 4 Rina Chetry Dol 5987 7895 SBIN0002123 42698378576 SBI 400000 Bahadur 5409 Chetry 5 Swastika Bikram 9017 9152 PUNB0RRBAGB 7233010065292 Assam 400000 Limbu Rai 9418 Gramin Vikash Bank 6 Prithi Maya Kharka 4802 7822 UTBI0RRBAGB 7233026009152 Assam 400000 Chetry Bahdur 5337 Gramin Chetry Vikash Bank TOTAL 2400000 IN WORDS: TWENTY FOUR LAKH ONLY/-"
10. The names of the injured and amounts disbursed reads as under:
Sl. NAME OF NAME
No. BENEFICIARY AADHAR NO. IFSC CODE ACCOUNT NO. OF BANK AMOUNT
Bhupen
1 Rajbongshi 2365 2783 9818 SBIN0002123 40592988993 SBI 16000
2 Santosh Chetry 6925 8245 2194 SBIN0002123 40175920565 SBI 16000
Luk Nath BARODA
3 Chetry 5183 7540 7305 BARB0VJGOLA 65498100000520 BANK 16000
4 Ramesh Chetry 6495 2527 9322 SBIN0002123 31733302533 SBI 16000
TOTAL 64000
IN WORDS: SIXTY FOUR THOUSAND ONLY/-"
11. It is further stated that a spot verification was conducted in order to ensure strict compliance of the Notification issued by the Additional Deputy Commissioner office Bhandari dated 30.01.2024 based on Office Memorandum dated 15.01.2019 issued by the Geology & Mining Department, Government of Nagaland banning all illegal mining across the State of Nagaland. On verification, the team found no activity in all the sites under Bhandari. It has also 8 been decided to conduct physical verification from time to time to ensure that no illegal mining takes place without valid license from the Government. The Verification Report issued by the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Bhandari, Wokha has been filed as Annexure-8, page no.37 of the paper-book, to the affidavit of the Deputy Commissioner.
12. Along with the affidavit "Action Taken Report on Closure of Unlicensed Mines under Wokha District" has been filed (page no.43 of the paper-book) which mentions that in compliance of the orders dated 08.02.2024, Closure Notice was served to all unlicensed mines/coal mine owners under Wokha District to stop coal mining activities with immediate effect. It is also stated that thereafter, no coal mining activity has been reported in the notified mines till date. It is further stated that vide Department order dated 31.03.2024 notice was served on the coal mine owners at Ruchan Village where the mining accident occurred. The details of unlicensed coal mine owners and the area of mining operation is mentioned in the Action Taken Report which reads as under:-
Sl. Name of Mine Owners Location of Coal Mines No.
1. Shri. Ekonthung Lotha Liphi Village
2. Shri. Ramu Chetry Ruchan Village
3. Shri. Mhabemo Tsanglao New Koro village
4. Shri. Robert Lotha Ruchan village
5. Shri. Simanta Chutia Liphi village
6. Shri. Abdul Ali Ruchan village
7. Shri. Benathung Ranthan Lotsu village
8. Shri. Merio Huntsoe Lotsu village
9. Shri. Chenithung Odyuo Morakjo village
10. Shri. Robin Ovung Morakjo village
11. Shri. Renzamo Ezung Baghty valley
12. Shri. Nrithung Yanthan Baghty valley
13. Shri. Limathung Murry Meshangpen village
14. Shri. Yibomo Ovung Lotsu village
15. Shri. Chenithung Jungi Yimpang village 9
13. We have gone through the pleadings of the parties and the documents on record. We find that Ex-gratia has been paid to the kin of the six deceased and to the four persons who have suffered burn injuries in the accident which occurred on 25.01.2024 in Ruchan Village due to coal mine fire. Notice has also been issued to the coal mine owners of Ruchan Village to stop all unlicensed coal mine activity with immediate effect and, thereafter, as per report of the Geologist & Wokha District In-charge, Directorate of Geology & Mining, Government of Nagaland dated 29.05.2024, no coal mining activity has been report in the notified mines till date.
14. In this view of the matter, nothing further remains for adjudication in the present Original Application and the same is accordingly disposed of.
15. There shall be no order as to costs.
..................................... B. Amit Sthalekar, JM ............................................. Dr. Arun Kumar Verma, EM July 10, 2024, Original Application No.77/2024/EZ (Earlier OA No.179/2024/PB) MN 10