Coal blocks of 33 firms cancelled

Withholds cancellation of 17 other companies owing to court cases

The coal ministry on Tuesday cancelled nine captive coal blocks held by 33 companies, acting on the advice of an inter-ministerial group (IMG). The companies whose blocks were axed due to delays in production included Hindalco, Tata Power, JK Cement, UltraTech, Navbharat Udyog and Bajrang Power.

The IMG had recommended cancellation of six additional blocks allocated to 17 companies including Monnet Ispat, Tata Sponge, Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL), Lanco, GMR and Vedanta’s Sterlite. While the ministry accepted the recommendation in these cases, it withheld “further action” as these were stuck in court cases.

The action comes a day after ten blocks of 18 companies were cancelled by the ministry as part of its latest de-allocation drive. All the blocks cancelled in the past two days fall within the list of 61 blocks being reviewed as part of a hearing in the Supreme Court in connection with the Rs 1.86 lakh crore coal scam.

The blocks cancelled today include Rajhara North held jointly by Mukund Ltd and Vini Iron & Steel; Tubed held jointly by Hindalco and Tata Power; Rajgamar Dipside allocated jointly to API Ispat and Chhattisgarh Sponge; Bander held jointly by AMR Iron, J K Cement and Century Textiles; and Madanpur North allocated jointly to Ultratech, Navbharat Udyog, Prakash Industries and Vandana Energy.

“The recommendations of the IMG have been considered and accepted by the competent authority. The coal block allocated to your company is de-allocated forthwith. Your company shall not be eligible for allocation of coal block in lieu of the de-allocated block,” the ministry said in similar cancellation letters issued to the companies.

The additional six blocks where the ministry withheld “further action” even as it accepted the IMG’s recommendations for cancellation included Rajgamar Dipside held jointly by Monnet Ispat and Topworth Steel; Radhikapur East allocated jointly to Tata Sponge, Scaw Industries and SPS Sponge Iron; and Gare Palma IV/6 held by JSPL and Nalwa Sponge.

The Supreme Court had asked the centre to explain the delays in the development of blocks. The ministry had on January 15 served a three-week ultimatum to the companies sitting on the 61 blocks where mining leases have not been executed to furnish the proof of the requisite clearances obtained by them to operationalize their captive mines. The IMG will meet again on Tuesday to review ten coal blocks where Stage-II of Forest Clearance is awaited.