M A I N   N E W S

Govt to SC: Ready to cancel more than 150 coal licences
Legal Correspondent

The Centre would auction all the coal blocks following the cancellation of the licences issued on the recommendations of the screening committee, he said. The Bench asked the government to file an affidavit to this effect by September 8 and posted the case for a day-long hearing on September 9. Last week, the SC had declared as “arbitrary and illegal” all the coal block allocations made on the recommendations of the Screening Committee since July 1993, but said “further hearing” was required to decide the “consequences.” The SC had delivered the 163-page verdict on a batch of PILs seeking cancellation of about 250 coal block allocations, including 101 for the steel sector, 97 for the power industry, 10 for cement firms and 37 for “commercial use.”

The screening committee had made its recommendations on the basis of 36 meetings held during the period. “The screening committee has never been consistent, it has not been transparent, there is no proper application of mind...relevant factors have seldom been its guiding factors, there was no transparency ... “The approach had been ad hoc and casual. There was no fair and transparent procedure, all resulting in unfair distribution of all the national wealth. Common good and public interest have, thus, suffered heavily,” the apex court had held.

In the verdict, the SC had clarified that coal blocks allocated through competitive bidding for the lowest tariff for power for Ultra Mega Power Projects need not be cancelled. However, blocks allocated for UMPPs would only be used for UMPPs and no diversion of coal for commercial exploitation would be permitted.

Mining on in 40 blocks

* Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi pleaded with a Bench headed by Chief Justice RM Lodha to exempt from cancellation 40 coal blocks in which mining had already begun and six blocks where mining was imminent

* Mining should be allowed to continue in these 46 blocks subject to the allottees entering into power purchase pacts and payment of ~285 per quintal of coal as compensation, he said .