An influential organisation in Assam has demanded that the state government release the long-awaited report of the judicial enquiry commission that investigated the deadly rat-hole coal mine tragedy at Umrangso in Dima Hasao district earlier this year.
On January 6, 2025, nine workers were trapped inside a flooded coal mine in Umrangso. After a gruelling 44-day search and rescue mission involving multiple agencies, including the Indian Navy and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), all nine bodies were recovered — the final five on February 19.
Following the disaster, the state government constituted a judicial commission headed by retired Gauhati High Court judge Justice Anima Hazarika. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had assured the public that the report would be submitted within three months. Six months on, the report remains under wraps.
Daniel Langthasa, convenor of the Sixth Schedule Protection Committee and former member of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC), criticised the delay, calling it a betrayal of the victims’ families.
“The commission was given three months. Six months have passed, but the government has not shared the report. There is no update, and those responsible for the illegal mining that caused this tragedy are yet to be punished,” Langthasa said.
Rat-hole coal mining, a primitive, hazardous and banned practice, continues to thrive in the hilly district despite a National Green Tribunal (NGT) ban imposed in 2014. A post-tragedy survey revealed that at least 220 such mines operate illegally in the Umrangso area alone.
Langthasa questioned how so many illegal mines could function undetected under the watch of the NCHAC, which is ruled by the BJP. “How could the council be unaware of 220 mines? This is blatant negligence, if not complicity,” he alleged.
One person, Punish Nunisa, has so far been arrested in connection with the incident, but activists fear he is merely a scapegoat while the bigger network behind the illicit coal trade remains untouched.
The Chief Minister had earlier announced that the Mines and Minerals Department would identify and shut down all illegal rat-hole mines in coordination with central agencies but local communities say no visible progress has been made.
Langthasa also linked the mining mafia to wider governance failures in the insurgency-hit district, pointing out a rise in mysterious deaths, kidnappings and drug abuse.
He accused the council of ignoring its mandate to protect tribal land rights, alleging that protected land is quietly being transferred to private players for coke plants and other industries without the consent of local village authorities.
Calling the situation a “social crisis”, Langthasa warned that continued illegal mining, unchecked corruption and lack of accountability could push more youth into drugs and crime.
“People commit crimes when they lose hope in those in power,” he said.
