High Court
The Meghalaya high court rejected an elaborate plan to deploy nearly 160 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) companies to check illegal coal mining and transportation in the state, instead deploying 10 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) companies that can operate independently.
A central police force company has a sanctioned strength of 135 personnel, but the operational strength is closer to 100.
The bench stated that the state government had presented a grandiose plan that would not only cost the state hundreds of crores of rupees but would also take a long time. The high court also took note of the Centre’s contention that the CRPF personnel would be subject to state jurisdiction and that the CISF, which was formed to protect critical infrastructure, would be more appropriate for the job.
The bench, which included Chief Justice Sanjib Bannerjee, Justices H Thangkhiew, and Justice W Diengdoh, frowned on the state’s proposal, saying it could deplete the state’s coal reserves by the time it was implemented.
Statement by Meghalaya high court
“Though the state has indicated in great detail the number of companies to be deployed in the 12 districts, including bifurcating the companies involved in checking vehicles and others involved in checking mining activities, the cost implications, even on a short-term, temporary basis, may make it infeasible. In fact, the State has budgeted a total of 316 crores for the construction of quarters and barracks, and it spends more than 58 crores annually on requisitioning vehicles. In any case, it would take a long time to finish the development, and it would be impossible to house 160 firms temporarily even if the infrastructure built could be used by the State once the CRPF was no longer needed. By the time the State’s great plan is implemented, its coal supplies may really be depleted”, the court said.
The judges decided that instead, “it appears fair and reasonable to this court to deploy 10 companies, not of the CRPF but of the CISF. This is so that, as the Central government rightly notes, the CISF may operate freely while the CRPF is under the direction of the state police. The federal government responds that the CISF would be competent to handle the element of inspecting cargo vehicles in response to a court inquiry”.
The court stated, “When CISF is engaged in inspecting the vehicles, there is little question that it would also check for contraband and make sure that the goods vehicles comply with the weight limitations for plying on the state and national highways in Meghalaya”.
