NEC Mined ₹4872 Cr Worth Coal Illegally: Justice Kataky Panel

The report submitted by the Justice Katakey led panel found NEC guilty of mining ₹4872 crores worth of coal without securing any mining rights.

The North-Eastern Coalfields (NEC), a unit of Coal India was found guilty of illegal coal mining in Assam. The Margherita headquartered unit was found guilty by a probe panel led by retired judge Justice BP Katakey.

The report submitted by the Justice Katakey led panel found NEC guilty of mining ₹4872 crores worth of coal without securing any mining rights.

The panel was commissioned following orders from the government of Assam in July 2020 to look into the alleged illegal mining in the state's Digboi forest division which falls within the Dehing Patkai National Park.

Meanwhile, the Justice Katakey commission's recommendations to the state government were to recover the entire amount from NEC. It said that the company illegally mined coal worth close to ₹4900 crores since 2003 from areas where it did not have any mining rights.

The report added, "The violation of the provisions of the 1980 Act is writ large on the said stage-I clearance granted by the government of India". 

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