Meghalaya coal inquiry targets missing 13.02 lakh tonnes

The committee also flagged 37,449.53 tonnes of illegally mined coal found outside Coal India Limited depots, saying FIRs had initially been filed for only 4,141.83 tonnes. That leaves 33,307.7 tonnes that still need legal action, and the panel said police case numbers and investigation status were not fully provided even after the state said FIRs covered the entire quantity.

For investors and industry watchers, the case matters because coal remains a key input for power generation and heavy industry in India, while persistent leakage and illegal extraction weaken regulatory credibility and can distort local supply chains. The findings also underscore the difficulty state authorities face in enforcing mining rules in Meghalaya, where rathole mining has been tied to multiple deaths and has drawn repeated court intervention.

The broader implication is that legal mining in the state may face tighter scrutiny and more administrative pressure if the inquiry leads to accountability for missing inventory. With the committee pressing for responsibility fixation, the next catalyst will be how police and state agencies document the loss and whether the courts order fresh enforcement measures against illegal coal extraction.