CBI seeks coal files from PMO, shows no sign of closure

Beside giving its status report to the Supreme Court on the coal block allocation scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) indicated on Tuesday that it was determined to continue its probe into the case against former Union coal secretary P C Parakh and industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla.

To reiterate its stand that it is far from closing the probe, the investigation agency has written to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), seeking files related to the coal block allocation to Birla’s Hindalco in 2005.

A senior CBI official said the agency had approached the PMO and not the coal ministry for the files, as Hindalco’s application was processed at the PMO.

This comes after the PMO rebuttal against CBI allegations that Hindalco seems to have got the Talabira-II block in Odisha as part of a criminal conspiracy. In a statement, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the decision was his and taken for good reason. (SC-LED CBI PROBES)

CBI has maintained it has the proof to charge Parakh of abusing his official position, while still investigating the bribery angle. The agency has also taken note of the subsequent appointment of Parakh on the board of Navjyoti Power, a company also allocated a block.

CBI’s 14th First Information Report on the alleged Rs 1.86 lakh-crore allocation scam says Parakh overturned the recommendation of the screening committee and made Hindalco a joint allottee in the allocation after Birla met him; the final decision was taken by the “competent authority”.

CBI had earlier said it would inform the apex court about all the facts it had gathered in its case against Birla and Parakh.

CBI is also likely to ask for the correspondence between the PMO and Naveen Patnaik, chief minister of Odisha, regarding the latter’s request to give preference for Hindalco in the allocation. The PMO then sent the proposal again to the ministry, which recommended clubbing two blocks and developing these as a joint venture, with 70 per cent stake of Mahanadi Coalfields and 15 per cent each of Neyveli Lignite  and Hindalco.