The central government will have the final say in disputes arising out of the Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) by both public and private sector power companies, according to sources. Coal India has modified the clauses concerning supply disputes which put the private sector at par with PSUs, a source with a power utility told PTI.

According to the model FSA circulated in November, 2012, Coal India had the right to terminate the supply contract for private power sector consumers with a three-month notice in case there was no consensus during a joint review.

Units with a combined capacity of 16, 000 Mw to be affected

Coal-based power plants with 16,000 Megawatt (Mw) capacity, entailing an investment of more than Rs 80,000 crore, are unlikely to get the benefit of coal price pooling. The coal ministry has said these projects would be kept out of the pooling mechanism, since they came up without any firm long-term linkage from Coal India Ltd (CIL).

Kolkata: The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) once again seems to be putting the brakes on exploration activity for identifying new, mineable coal reserves, which are crucial to the country’s rising coal demand.

AK Debnath, chairman and managing director, Central Mine & Planning Design Institute (CMPDI), told FE that the Planning Commission has set a target of prospecting 15 lakh metres per annum by the end of the 12th Plan Period ending 2017, against the current annual average of 3 lakh metres. Accelerating such activity would require digging more bore holes — at least 15 for every sq km. But the MoEF is sticking to its benchmark of allowing digging an average 1-1.5 bore holes per sq km, which would make the target impossible.

It will investigate the role of public servants in undue favours to private firms

In a significant development, the Central Bureau of Investigation has decided to widen its probe into Coalgate, covering allegations that the delay in tabling of the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2008, in Parliament was deliberate. The CBI has found out that the system the authorities adopted for the formation of joint ventures was not transparent and accused public servants of vested interest in the award of the contract for development of mines or forming joint ventures with private parties, unduly benefitting a large number of private firms, it said in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, which is hearing a petition on the scam.

State government terms the coal minister's comment as unfortunate

The Centre has rejected the Odisha government’s demand to re-allocate the coal block to its PSUs which were de-allocated last year for delay in start of work. “The coal blocks were de-allocated on the basis of certain recommendation. How can they be re-allocated?” asked Sriprakash Jaiswal, Union minister of coal during his visit to the state.

NEW DELHI: Coal India Ltd (CIL) has gone out of its way to sign fuel supply pacts with 11 companies, including alleged Coalgate beneficiaries, even before these firms reached the qualifying milestones such as acquiring land, the state-run monopoly's internal anti-corruption watchdog has said.

In a report to the coal ministry, a copy of which is available with TOI, CIL's CVO (chief vigilance officer) Manoj Kumar said supply pacts for 5,935 mw — or one-and-a-half times of the national capital's daily requirement — have either been inked or cleared for signing in spite of "deficiencies in documents".A fuel supply agreement (FSA) holds the key to disbursal of institutional funding for power projects.

Guj CM had written a series of letters to PM since June 2010 seeking additional coal blocks for Guj Mineral Dev Corp

The Centre has turned down Gujarat government requests for coal blocks. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had written a series of letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh since June 2010 seeking additional coal blocks for Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) and allocation of an alternate coal block for the state-run company.

Tells Supreme Court system was not transparent

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has widened its probe in the coal block allocation scam to cover the delay in introduction of bidding. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had continued with allocation of blocks through the screening committee route, as the proposal for bidding had been moving back and forth between government departments. CBI had last year limited itself to probing irregularities in the allocation of blocks, without going into the policy issue of bidding.

With delays plaguing 39 coal mining projects, the coal ministry has decided to approach the Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) for clearing the hurdles. The newly-formed CCI is expected to take up these projects in its next meeting likely within a fortnight.

In a note to the CCI on December 27, the coal ministry said while delayed environment clearances may wreak havoc on its production plans, there are other bottlenecks which have hampered operations of its planned power projects entailing an investment of nearly Rs 14,000 crore.