Coal blocks allocated on states' recommendations: Minister

Asserting that the government has nothing to hide, Minister of State for Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy today said coal blocks were allocated to public and private sector companies on the basis of recommendations of states.
"As far as the government is concerned, we have made it very clear that the allocation of coal blocks have been made to public sector undertakings and also to some of the private sector on the recommendation of the state governments," he told reporters here.
The chief secretaries of respective state governments, where coal blocks are available, are members of the committee. "The committee has cleared it (coal blocks allocation)," the Minister said.

From the government side, we have nothing to hide. We have done it in very transparent manner, he said.
Narayanasamy, however, refrained from commenting on the accusations of former Coal Secretary P C Parakh, accused in one of the cases, against Prime Minister for taking final decision on coal blocks allocation.
"There is a matter which is being investigated by the CBI. CBI has filed the FIR. They are investigating the matter. The Supreme Court is also monitoring the case. Of course, from government side, whatever possible information has to be given, we have given it to them.

"I do not want to go on any individual making any observation. The matter is prejudice. I cannot make any observation," he said.

On CBI booking industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and Parakh, Narayanasamy, whose ministry is dealing with CBI on administrative matters, said, "I do not want to go into merits of anything".
"Some of my colleagues also made some observation. The kind of trend is coming is not good for the country. That much alone I can say," the Minister said.