A parliamentary panel has pulled up the coal ministry for cancelling allocations to power companies without trying to address the issues that led to delays in developing coal blocks. The ministry had been acting like a big brother, trying to intimidate power companies for reasons beyond their control, the panel noted.

“Mere de-allocation of a block is not a solution, owing to the possibility of new allottees finding it difficult to develop these,” the parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy, headed by Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, said in its report on the availability of coal and gas for the power sector.