Why is it in the news?
An explosion in an illegally operating rat-hole coal mine in East Jaintia Hills killed at least 18 workers.
Incident highlights continued illegal mining despite NGT and Supreme Court bans.
Category: Environment
Important Points:
● Rat-hole mining involves narrow 3–4 feet high tunnels for manual coal extraction
● Practised predominantly in Meghalaya; also reported in other NE states
● Types: Side-cutting (horizontal tunnels), Box-cutting (vertical pit with horizontal branches)
● Banned by NGT in 2014 as “unscientific and illegal”; upheld by Supreme Court
● Violates MMDR Act, 1957
● Causes Acid Mine Drainage contaminating rivers with Iron, Cadmium, Chromium
● Rivers affected: Kopili, Myntdu, Lukha
● Leads to deforestation, soil erosion and biodiversity loss
● Common hazards: flooding, roof collapse, toxic gas asphyxiation
● Sixth Schedule autonomy and weak enforcement enable persistence