11 illegal coke plants demolished in East Jaintia Hills following High Court's order

Shillong, Dec 15: All 11 illegal coke plants operating in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district were demolished on Sunday following directions from the High Court of Meghalaya.

Deputy Commissioner of East Jaintia Hills, Shivansh Awasthi, said the demolition drive began on December 13 and has now been completed, with all unauthorised plants taken down.

“In compliance with the directions of the High Court of Meghalaya, a joint team was constituted to carry out the demolition of illegal coke plants operating in the district,” Awasthi said.

The joint team was formed under the supervision of Sub-Divisional Officer Manish Kumar and included officials from the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board and the Police Department.

“The team successfully demolished seven of the 11 unauthorised coke plants. In the remaining four cases, it was found that the plants had already been dismantled by their respective owners,” the Deputy Commissioner said.

Awasthi added that a total of 16 coke plants had been identified in the district as operating without mandatory approvals, in violation of norms laid down under government notifications. Of these, five had been demolished earlier.

Notices were issued to the remaining plant owners, directing them to submit compliance reports. However, as no response was received, the authorities proceeded with the demolition drive, he said.