Shillong, May 7 -- Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday reiterated his government's commitment to enforce court directives to curb illegal mining and transportation of coal in the state.
Sangma said the state government is doing all it can with administrative decisions and the available manpower.
"The coal mines are spread over a large geographical area, some in remote locations. . East Jaintia Hills alone has around 22,000 mines, making continuous monitoring a huge challenge with the existing manpower and administrative setup," the Chief Minister said.
"Even if the administration focuses on monitoring 5,000 to 6,000 locations at one time, thousands of other sites remain outside active surveillance," he further explained.
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