Pvt owners haven’t done much to develop them for years.

New Delhi: Congress MP Naveen Jindal, who is chairman and MD of Jindal Steel & Power, on Sunday said JSPL’s subsidiary Jindal Power Limited (JPL) was highly profitable not due to allocation of

Most blame wait to get green nod, land Jindal Steel might present case today

On the first day of the three-day interaction of the high-level inter ministerial group (IMG) on coal block development, 10 companies on Thursday presented their cases to the panel, justifying their delay in production. These companies are among the 58 issued show-cause notices by the government, threatening cancellation of allocations. Those making a presentation included Monnet Ispat & Energy, Usha Martin, Jayaswal Neco, Electrosteel Casting and Neelachal Iron & Steel

“They need to be dealt with firmly and their blocks de-allocated as per the terms”

The Coal Ministry has acknowledged that the conduct of the coal block allottees, some of whom are among those who were issued show-cause notices and raided by the CBI, had not been above board as they diverted coal for sale in the open market in violation of the condition of allotment and sold their companies at a heavy premium after getting a coal block. This acknowledgement came in its internal note on coal policy.

NMDC has raised iron ore prices by 8-13 per cent for domestic sales

Fearing a further squeeze on profit margins, steel manufacturers have sought intervention of the ministry of steel in the issue of the recent “arbitrary” price increase in iron ore price by state-owned NMDC. In a letter dated August 30, signed by Alok Chandra, chairman of the Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association (Sima), steel and sponge iron producers argued that NMDC’s price rise came even as the the price of iron ore had declined substantially in global markets. NMDC has raised iron ore prices by 8-13 per cent for domestic sales.

Ahir alleges 2 ‘Coal To Liquid’ project allocated in 2009 without panel nod

Two coal blocks, including one given to Congress MP Naveen Jindal’s Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), face the risk of de-allocation as their cases would be under special focus at the meeting of an inter-ministerial group (IMG) tomorrow.

The coal ministry had advised the IMG to do “due diligence” and record all specific reasons for recommending de-allocation, including in these two specific cases, sources said.

An inter-ministerial panel under the coal ministry will decide the fate of allocation of 17 captive coal blocks allotted to big corporate houses, next week. This is on the back of severe delays in their development. This comes close on the heels of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigating the alleged corruption in allocation of blocks.

The coal ministry had recently issued showcause notices to the companies, which own the mining rights of the 17 blocks allocated between 2006 and 2009. Through the notices, the ministry had threatened the companies of cancelling their allotments and sought justifications for the delay.

Rejecting charges of wrongdoing in coal block allocations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the government has already initiated the process of cancelling mines to companies which failed to develop them and action would be taken against 'wrongdoers' if any.

"We have initiated action to cancel the allocations of allottees who did not take adequate follow-up action to commence production," Singh said in a statement in both Houses of Parliament amid uproar created by the BJP.

While the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) thinks the private coal miners could rip off Rs 1,85,591 crore from the state, the coal ministry has had to threaten companies with invoking bank gua