Monitoring failures on key Meghalaya coal corridors raise concerns over illegal transport as exports to Bangladesh appear to resume
The security and regulation of critical coal transportation routes from Meghalaya to Assam and Bangladesh have come under renewed scrutiny, with Justice B.P. Katakey (Retired) flagging serious enforcement gaps that could enable illegal coal movement under the cover of legality.
Justice Katakey, appointed by the Meghalaya High Court to head the committee monitoring coal transportation and allied issues, has questioned whether the state is adequately prepared to prevent illegally mined coal from slipping through weakly monitored corridors—especially as demand for coal, particularly from Bangladesh, appears to be reviving.
Raising concerns over the absence of oversight, Justice Katakey directed the Meghalaya Government to immediately establish Directorate of Mineral Resources (DMR) check gates along two key routes: Nangalbibra–Dainadubi, which serves as an exit point into Assam, and Nangalbibra–Gasuapara, which leads to the Bangladesh border. Both stretches are approximately 80 km long and currently lack intermediate monitoring points.
“I didn’t find any DMR check gate between Nangalbibra and Dainadubi or between Nangalbibra and Gasuapara,” Justice Katakey observed. “I have asked the government to place DMR circuits somewhere in between so that trucks carrying coal can be checked again, because there are numerous allegations of illegal transportation.”
He warned that the absence of such checkpoints has created scope for the alleged misuse of coal challans, including the repeated circulation of photocopied documents, which undermines both enforcement mechanisms and the credibility of the coal transportation system in Meghalaya.
Justice Katakey also linked the renewed movement of coal to improving conditions across the Bangladesh border. He noted that coal exports had earlier stalled due to disturbances in Bangladesh, discouraging buyers from lifting coal during auctions.
“Earlier, there was no export to Bangladesh, which is why people did not lift coal from auctions,” he said. “However, in the auction held on December 17, 2025, over two lakh metric tonnes of inventoried coal was put up for sale, and more than 50,000 metric tonnes was sold. This clearly indicates that demand has returned, and most of this coal is likely being transported to Bangladesh.”
With transportation now resuming, Justice Katakey cautioned state authorities to remain vigilant. “I have instructed all concerned departments to ensure that no illegally mined coal is transported under the guise of legally mined coal,” he said, stressing that stricter monitoring along Meghalaya’s coal corridors is essential as cross-border movement picks up again.
