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Guwahati, Sept.

NEW DELHI, 4 SEPT: Under attack from the BJP on the coal block allocation issue, the government today said the policy followed by it in allotting the mines was “100 per cent correct” and those who

GAIL pulled up for undue benefit of Rs 246 crore to private firms

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pulled up Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for hiring a drilling rig from Reliance Industries (RIL) without calling for competitive bids. It also indicted GAIL (India) for giving over Rs 246 crore of undue benefit to private power companies by selling natural gas at subsidised rates.

FIRs against 5 companies, raids in 10 cities, captive block holders face charges of misrepresentation of facts, criminal conspiracy & cheating

After the telecom scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has turned the heat on the allocation of coal blocks. It has registered FIRs against 20 accused, including five private companies, their directors and unknown government officials for misrepresentation of facts during allocation. The agency is likely to register more FIRs.

The CAG issued a press release on Aug 31, 2012 for its “Performance Audit Report No. 10 of 2012-13 of hydropower projects for the 11th 5-year plan ending on March 31, 2012. This CAG audit is an extremely weak and inadequate work of the CAG. In fact it does not really audit the performance of hydropower projects at all.

Reliance Power has started producing coal at two mines attached to its 4,000-megawatts ultra mega power project at Sasan, Chief Executive JP Chalasani said on Monday.

RPower awarded three captive coal mines for its 4,000-Mw Sasan UMPP -Moher, Moher Amlohri extension and Chhatrasal

Reliance Power Ltd on Monday announced it had commenced coal production at two of its Sasan power project’s captive coal mines—Moher and Moher Amlohri extension. The company did not divulge any details on the amount of initial coal production. The announcement comes on the same day when the government decided to ask the companies holding 58 blocks to present their case before an inter-ministerial group later this week.

Had written to ministry in Nov 2011 to cancel blocks if cos fail to meet output deadlines

To check the adverse impact of a possible cancellation of the coal blocks allotted to companies that have failed to fulfil the norms for making them operational by March 2013 and prevent a “fuel crisis,” the government proposes to hand over all cancelled blocks to Coal India Limited (CIL).

This view has emerged even as the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) on coal blocks met on Monday to take a decision on the 58 blocks that have been issued show-cause notices and advisories.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Monday rejected the Opposition demand for cancellation of coal blocks that have come under the CAG scrutiny, saying the government had to hear out the allottees and could not enforce cancellation by diktat.

“A fair procedure has to be followed and this is already under way,” he said. The final week of the monsoon session of Parliament started with the Opposition closing ranks over its demand that the government forthwith cancel allocation of coal blocks. The BJP, which until two days ago was insistent on the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation, aligned itself with the rest of the Opposition, and said it would return to the House if the government cancelled all 142 allocations made by it since taking office in 2004.

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