A Down to Earth and Mongabay India analysis published around February 7, 2026 exposed the stark failure of regulatory enforcement in Meghalaya's rat-hole coal mining sector. On February 5, 2026, an explosion at an illegal rat-hole mine in East Jaintia Hills district killed between 27 and 34 workers — the exact toll remained disputed — in one of independent India's worst mining disasters in the region. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned rat-hole mining in Meghalaya in 2014 following widespread environmental damage and repeated accidents, including the infamous 2018 Ksan mine disaster where 15 miners were trapped and never rescued. Despite the 12-year-old ban, illegal rat-hole coal mining continued openly, driven by coal-dependent local livelihoods, corruption, and weak state enforcement. Rat-hole mining refers to a highly dangerous practice of digging narrow tunnels (rat-holes) horizontally into hillsides to extract coal seams, predominantly practiced in Meghalaya's Jaintia Hills. The technique leaves miners in cramped, unventilated spaces prone to collapses and gas explosions. Following the February 5 blast, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma ordered the constitution of a Judicial Inquiry Commission. However, critics and environmental journalists argued this was a repeat pattern — inquiry after tragedy, no structural reform. The Down to Earth analysis called for immediate CBI investigation and implementation of a comprehensive mining regulation act in Meghalaya.