Coal scam: Prakash Industries - In the dock

Prakash Industries, established in 1980, runs an integrated steel plant at Champa in Chhattisgarh. The company was allotted three coal blocks at Chotia, Madanpur and Fatehpur in Chhattisgarh. Chotia coal mines is already operational. The company also owns iron ore mines in Chhattisgarh and Odisha and a 100-Mw captive power generation plant.

Ved Prakash Agarwal, chairman of Prakash Industries, is alleged to have used his political connections to get the coal blocks.

With Agarwal’s name being linked to the coal scam, his brother Jaiprakash Agarwal, chairman and managing director of Surya Roshni, issued a statement last year disassociating himself from his brother.

“We (brothers) do separate businesses… I just came to know that the coal mines were allotted to Prakash Industries at the time of Congress government and chief minister was Ajit Jogi. And, the mines were allotted based on merit of Prakash industry,” Jaiprakash said in his statement.

Though Ved Prakash’s alleged closeness to the Congress has landed him in CBI net, his brother’s Surya Foundation is considered close to the Bharatiya Janata Party.