Guwahati, Jan 11 (PTI) Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to constitute an SIT to probe into the mining tragedy in Assam, which left four labourers in an alleged illegal coal quarry dead.

Gogoi also claimed that "illegal mining continues unchecked" in Assam due to "weak law enforcement and local complicity".

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Nine workers were trapped inside a coal mine in Umrangsu in Dima Hasao district in Assam on Monday after a sudden gush of water flooded the quarry. The bodies of four labourers have so far been retrieved.

In a letter to the prime minister, Gogoi said illegal mining in the region has caused multiple fatal accidents, exacerbated by the complicity of local authorities.

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He said in areas like Umrangso and Karbi Anglong, local players are heavily involved in illegal operations, while the district administration "fails" to take action.

"If left unchecked, this ongoing negligence will continue to jeopardise workers' lives and further harm the environment. Given the gravity of the situation, I urge you to take immediate action and constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate this incident thoroughly," he said.

The Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha said the SIT should not only look into the illegal operation of the mine and identify those responsible for this tragedy, but it must also address the broader issues at play.

He said this includes the failure to enforce the National Green Tribunal's ban on rat-hole mining, and the complicity of local authorities-including the district administration and district police who have enabled these illegal activities to persist despite repeated accidents and warnings.

"The SIT should also examine safety standards and working conditions in these mines, which are consistently ignored, leading to deadly incidents," he said.

Furthermore, Gogoi said, the investigation should expand its scope to identify and map out other illegal mining sites across Karbi Anglong, Dima Hasao, and Upper Assam, areas where these activities continue unabated.

Additionally, he said, the investigation must address the environmental impact of such illegal mining operations and recommend necessary actions to curb the long-term damage to both human lives and the environment.

"The people of Assam, and indeed all of India, deserve to know the truth and see justice done," he said.

The Congress leader said, as of now, the ongoing rescue operations have entered the fifth consecutive day, but the fate of these miners remains uncertain.

"This tragedy is not an isolated incident. The issue of illegal mining in the region has been ongoing for years, with numerous such accidents reported in the past," he said.

Gogoi said illegal rat-hole mining continues to thrive in Assam, despite being banned by the NGT in 2014, and the subsequent retention of the ban in 2015.

He said the 2021 report by the one-man judicial commission led by Justice (Retd) Brojendra Prasad Katakey, which was investigating allegations of illegal mining in Assam's Digboi forest division, found that rat-hole mining is flourishing unchecked in the region.

The commission's findings indicate that these illegal mining activities are thriving due to a combination of insufficient law enforcement, corruption, and lack of accountability, he said.

Gogoi said the Union government too, has acknowledged the continued existence of rat-hole mining in the Reserve Forests (RFs) and Proposed Reserve Forests (PRFs) of the Digboi Division, as revealed by data shared in the Lok Sabha in 2019.

Further, the Union government noted that the Assam government had informed it that it was aware of illegal coal mining in the forest areas of Digboi division in places such as Namphai reserve forest and Saleki proposed reserve forest, he said.

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