IMG may recommend de-allocation of Gouganrdih coal block

Sources, who attended the meeting of the IMG for the second day today, said the panal decided to recommend deallocation of the Gouganrdih ABC mine, given jointly to JSW Steel and Himachal EMTA, in 2009.

Source said IMG reviewed the replies furnished by six coal block allottees at its five-hour long meeting today and decided to forfeit bank guarantees of two block allottees.

"No punitive action has been recommended in respect of three coal blocks, including the one allocated to a firm belonging to the Tata Group," sources said.

The IMG, which is scrutinising 29 blocks awarded to the private parties out of the total 58, which were given the show-cause notices for delays in developing mines.

The IMG is likely to send its recommendations in regards to the six coal blocks reviewed today to the Coal Ministry on Monday. It would meet again tomorrow.

The Gouganrdih ABC blcok has 61.54 million tonnes of extractable reserves and the coal from the mine was meant to be used for a power project.

The block finds mention in the CAG report as well. The government auditor had said the allottees of the block, located in West Bengal might have accrued undue benefit to the tune of Rs 1,818 crore.

Earlier in the day, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said some more coal blocks (in addition to the four deallocated following the recommendation of the IMG on September 13) would be deallocated.

The government also deducted bank guarantees of three other blocks belonging to private companies for failing to meet timelines on production and development of mines.

The CAG had recently estimated that undue benefits to the tune of Rs 1.86 lakh crore have been accrued to private firms due to allocation of 57 mines without auction.