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CII wants govt to study merits of cases in coal deallocation

Industry chamber CII Thursday said government's intent of involving private sector in developing infrastructure will be defeated if coal mines are taken back without examining merits of the cases in detail.

The government recently decided to deallocate 11 coal blocks of companies, including Jindal Steel and Power Ltd.

"The intent of the government to involve private sector to invest in the infrastructure sector in the interest of the country and the economy will be defeated if de-allocation of coal blocks is resorted to, without examining the merits of the cases in detail," CII President S Gopalakrishnan said in a statement.

Most of the mines which are deallocated have faced difficulty in obtaining forest and environment clearances, land acquisition and law and order among other issues, CII said, adding that the additional problem which the developers face is the grant of prospecting licence and release of mining lease by the state government concerned.

"Instead of de-allocation, the government should have strengthened the institutional mechanism in order to expedite the clearance process, eradicate difficulty faced by developer and thereby meet its objective of coal block development by involving private investment," CII Past President and Vice Chairman Tata Steel B Muthuraman said.

To revive falling economic growth, the country needs to improve supply which means shifting from consumption to investment and it must do so by creating new and transparent institutions and process, the CII statement said.

"In the context of coal blocks, this initiative would involve facilitating their timely development rather than deallocation, which is only a penal measure," Muthuraman said.



Source: PTI