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The Planning Commission on Tuesday pitched for privatisation of coal mining, saying the government should have a consistent policy for the energy sector, as third-party sale is allowed for petroleum and natural gas in the country.

“To my mind, the logic is very clear that it should be allowed (for coal),” Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told reporters on the sidelines of the SKOCH Summit in New Delhi.

Sudhir Kant Sahay is honorary executive director of the company

Even as the Coal Ministry on Monday decided to cancel the allocation of the Gourangdih ABC block in West Bengal, owned by Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Steel Ltd. and Himachal EMTA, it delayed action against SKS Ispat, linked to Sudhir Kant Sahay, brother of Union Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahay, leading to speculation about political pressure on the issue.

New Delhi The government on Monday cancelled the allocation of another coal block over allegations of irregularities and deducted bank guarantees of two allottees for failing to develop the mines in time. The cancelled allocation was that of Gourangdih ABC block given to JSW Steel and Himachal EMTA.

The move follows the recommendation of the inter-ministerial group (IMG), which is scrutinising 29 blocks awarded to the private parties out of the total 58 that were issued showcause notices for delays in development. Some of these find mention in the Comptroller and Auditor General's recent performance audit report on captive coal blocks.

IMG recommends bank guarantee deduction of Tata Power and Hindalco

JSW Steel and Himachal Emta Power today lost a coal block in West Bengal, while Tata Power and Hindalco Industries are likely to lose the bank guarantee for their block in Jharkhand. Today, the government cancelled the allocation of the Gourangdih ABC block in West Bengal’s Raniganj coalfields. Deallocation of the block, being developed by JSW Steel and Himachal Emta Power, was recommended on Friday by an inter-ministerial group (IMG) looking into irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks.

PMO snubs former coal secretary for his bid to ensure transparency in allocation of coal blocks.

The State Government’s aim to provide services on farmers’ doorstep failed because of disparities in the establishment of agro service centres (ASCs).

Deallocates Gourangdih ABC, jointly given to JSW Steel & Himachal EMTA, with this, govt has approved cancellation of licenses of 5 coal blocks

The Government today decided to deallocate one more mine - Gourangdih ABC, jointly given to JSW Steel and Himachal EMTA besides deduction of bank guarantees of two allottees for failing to develop mines within time. This follows the recommendation made by Inter-Ministerial group (IMG) which is scrutinising 29 blocks awarded to the private parties out of the total 58 which were given show cause notices for delays in development and some of these find mention in CAG report.

Says reserves to last only four years more

Has Hindalco Industries’ lease for Odisha’s only operational private coal mine been a bonanza or a carefully husbanded and now depleting asset? According to the state mining department, the company has so far excavated about 16 million tonnes from this one, at Talabira in this district. If the calculation of operating margin at Rs 295.41 per tonne of coal indicated in the report of the country’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is taken as reference, Hindalco made a financial gain of Rs 466 crore.

The office of the Comptroller and Auditor General is an essential instrument for enforcing the accountability of the executive to Parliament. It is wrong, as in the coal blocks and other recent cases, to cast aspersions on the CAG for pointing out the omissions and commissions of the government. The office of the CAG has done what it is expected to do as a guardian of national finance. Unfortunately the issue has got politicised with the leading opposition party upping the ante.

apex court has seven queries on: Petitioner’s plea for quashing allotments in six states: Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.

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