Coal news and updates

96 block allocattees fail to respond to MoC query

October 17: Allocattees of 96 “illegal” coal blocks have failed to respond to the Ministry of Coal (MoC) query on the status of the ownership of land and the number of employees employed by them (except contractual employees of the MDOs) within the stipulated time.

The ministry, in a letter dated October 1, had asked the allocattees of 204 cancelled mines to send their replies by October 7. This was part of the follow-up action being taken in pursuance of the court order of September 24.

However, replies from 96 of the 204 block allocattees were yet to be received by the ministry till October 14.

Subsequently, the ministry has urged them again to send their replies “without any further delay”.

“In case, no reply is received, it may be presumed that your company has no information to furnish,” the ministry said in its letter on October 14.

It may be recalled that the Supreme Court, in its judgment dated August 25, 2014 and order of September 24, 2014, had declared all coal block allocations made through the Screening Committee and government dispensation route since 1993 as “illegal” and quashed the allocation of 204 of the 218 coal blocks, except Tasra and Pakri Barwadih and the 12 blocks allocated to the UMPPs.