Akhil Gogoi asks CM to probe suspected coal trucks parked in Jorhat

Raijor Dal president and Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi has written to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asking for an inquiry into what he alleges is an illegal coal transport network running through Upper Assam, India Today NE reported on Sunday.

Trucks along the highway

In the letter dated November 8, Gogoi said he had seen 30 to 40 trucks, reportedly about 42, that he suspects were loaded with coal from Meghalaya, parked between Jhanji and Hanhchara in Jorhat district over the previous three days. He said some were moved after people began to notice them, and that about 12 were still on the highway. Locations he listed include a petrol pump at Teok and the area around the Meleng toll gate on the Jorhat-Sivasagar road.

According to Gogoi, the coal was meant to travel via Amguri to Tuli railway station in Nagaland. He asked why, if the consignments were legal, the trucks had not gone on to their declared destinations, and why no seizure had been made.

He urged the Chief Minister to have police and district officials seize the vehicles, check whether the coal was being moved legally and act against anyone involved.

Wider claims

The MLA further alleged that more than 200 suspected coal trucks were stuck near the Assam-West Bengal border after a transport arrangement through West Bengal broke down, and that a new route through Jorabat, Jagiroad, Nagaon, Kaziranga, Dergaon, Jorhat and Sivasagar was being tried, with the coal headed to Bihar via Tuli or Lakwa railway stations.

The letter names several private individuals and makes allegations against Finance Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah and Sadiya MLA Bolin Chetia. Gogoi himself wrote that these allegations need to be independently verified, and India Today NE noted that the letter did not include evidence of anyone's involvement. NEInsider has not been able to verify any of the claims, and no response from those named, the government or Jorhat police had been reported by Sunday night.

Gogoi also linked illegal coal mining in Nagaland's hills and unauthorised stone and sand extraction to environmental damage that he said may have worsened this year's floods in Upper Assam.

Background

Coal from Meghalaya has long moved through Assam by road and rail, and allegations of a "coal syndicate" have been raised repeatedly in the state, including by Gogoi in past years. NEInsider will update this story if the government or police respond.