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New UserGovernment approves payment of Rs 216 crore to lenders of cancelled coal blocks
26 Jul 2016
The government has approved payment of Rs 216 crore to lenders of
cancelled coal blocks, which is just over 2 per cent of coal miners' estimates of Rs 10,000
crore exposure of banks to the mines.
The nominated authority for coal mine auctions will release the payment to settle dues of five
banks including ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, UCO Bank and IDBI
Bank toward compensation of land and mine infrastructure, a senior government official said.
"The amount that has been lent by the banks to prior allottees of coal blocks is surprisingly not
a very large amount. At the time of cancellations of coal blocks, the prior mine owners said the
banks' exposure to the blocks is about Rs 10,000 crore," the official said.
The coal mines were cancelled subsequent to a Supreme Court order in October 2014. Banks had claimed Rs 743 crore as settlement for
loans against about 10 coal blocks, the official said. The coal ministry has found claims of onlyRs 216 crore as valid. It has not approved
loans banks sanctioned to prior coal block allottees for setting up attached power, steel and cement plants. The coal ministry had issued
notices seeking claims from banks toward dues pending by prior coal block owners, to which lenders to only 10 coal mines responded.
The payments will be made directly to the banks with prior information to the previous coal block allottees. The DELHI High Court has
allowed the nominated authority to release payments to banks as compensation toward loans taken for land and mine infrastructure by
previous coal block owners, the official said.
SOurce: ET