Show-cause notices to 30 coal block allottees next month

The Coal Ministry will begin issuing show-cause notices next month to 30 captive mine allottees, including NTPC, Jindal Steel and Power, Tata Steel and SAIL, for delay in development of their respective blocks, sources said.

"Everything is ready and the Coal Ministry will begin issuing notices to 30 coal block allottees which include NTPC, SAIL and Tata Steel, in June," sources close to the development said.

An inter-ministerial group (IMG) took the decision on the same in its meeting this month, they said.

The developers would be given up to a month's time to respond as to why their blocks should not get cancelled owing to delays in the development of their respective blocks.

Of the 30 blocks, for which show-cause notices would be issued, four blocks belong to Jindal Steel and Power's Utkal B1, Ramchandi Promotional Block, Amarkunda Murgadangal and Urtan North (jointly with Monnet Ispat and Energy).

Pakri Barwadih and Talaipalli blocks allocated to NTPC and North of Akrapal block given to Tata Steel for coal-to- liquid project also fall in the list, sources said.

Besides, three blocks -- Brinda, Sasai and Meral-- of Abhijeet Infrastructure, one block (Sitanala) of SAIL, one block (Tokisud North) of GVK Power (Goindwal Sahib) would also be issued notices, sources said.

The crackdown is part of government's exercise to ensure that allotted blocks do not remain unproductive for long.

The proposed move is significant as last year country's top auditor CAG in a report had estimated undue benefits to the tune of Rs 1.86 lakh crore to private players on account of coal blocks allocation to them without resorting to auction.

Earlier in a similar exercise, the government had issued show cause notices to 58 coal block allottees and deallocated blocks of some developers. It also deducted bank guarantees for some others.