No more coal mining licences due to harmful health effects, says union minister

The government will stop issuing new coal mining licences due to the substance’s harmful effects on health, said U Ohn Win, Union Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation. He also said factories which violate regulations in the burning of coal will be shut down. “We will allow existing coal mines to continue operating, but new mining licences will not be granted,” he said on February 10. “We will also be inspecting their mining process to check if they conform to regulations. The permission to continue mining will be granted only after we have inspected their method of mining.

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