11 SEP, 2012,SARITA C SINGH & DEBJOY SENGUPTA, ET BUREAU
NEW DELHI | KOLKATA: About 10 coal blocks given to private companies face the risk of penalties, including cancellation, as their owners have not been able to do much to develop them for years, and have not put up a strong case to convince the panel of officials scrutinising the allocations.
A senior coal ministry official said the panel would submit its recommendations this week, and Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal would take a final call on the cancellation of mining leases.
The recommendations of the panel, called the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), would be based on investments and efforts made by companies to develop the captive blocks, another government official said.
"The Inter-Ministerial Group reviewed the progress of the blocks and serious efforts made by the companies to develop them. The task was to differentiate between serious and non-serious companies. We found there were about 10 cases where more effort could have been made," the official said.
The government had issued show-cause notices to companies, including state firms, not doing enough to develop the blocks.
The notices show that in 15 blocks, the owners had met almost no milestone for development for two to five years.
Many were stuck because they were waiting for government clearances. About 11 companies have delayed their application for forest and environment clearance as well as application for mine-opening permission by anything between 2 years and 12 years.
In some cases, milestones have been achieved after the show-cause notice. Reliance Power, for instance, has started production from the coal blocks attached to the Sasan ultra mega power project (UMPP).
IMG, which reviewed 29 coal blocks for three days last week, will meet again on Wednesday to finalise its recommendations regarding mining licences to be revoked for non-satisfactory progress. The panel comprises members from the ministries of finance, coal, power, and law.
"The next meeting of IMG will be held on September 12 at 3 pm to deliberate and finalise its recommendations in respect of allocattees/companies which made presentations before it," a coal ministry statement said.
During its review last week, IMG heard presentations of owners of 29 coal blocks, including Jindal Steel and Power, Tata Steel and Reliance Power. Grasim Industries, Kesoram Industries, IST Steel & Power, SKS Ispat and Power, Bihar Sponge Iron are among the others to have appeared before the panel.
The coal ministry would also take into account the latest progress as reported by its Kolkata-based monitoring unit, Coal Controller's Organisation, before taking action against the coal block owners.
The ministry had in April this year issued notices to owners of 58 blocks that did not achieve the specified milestones. The companies were asked to explain the reasons for the delay. Twenty-nine coal blocks out of these are with public sector firms such as MMTC and state mining corporations of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa. Sources said the ministerial panel in its meeting on Wednesday may also decide the course for assessing performance of these state corporations.
NEW DELHI | KOLKATA: About 10 coal blocks given to private companies face the risk of penalties, including cancellation, as their owners have not been able to do much to develop them for years, and have not put up a strong case to convince the panel of officials scrutinising the allocations.
A senior coal ministry official said the panel would submit its recommendations this week, and Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal would take a final call on the cancellation of mining leases.
The recommendations of the panel, called the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), would be based on investments and efforts made by companies to develop the captive blocks, another government official said.
"The Inter-Ministerial Group reviewed the progress of the blocks and serious efforts made by the companies to develop them. The task was to differentiate between serious and non-serious companies. We found there were about 10 cases where more effort could have been made," the official said.
The government had issued show-cause notices to companies, including state firms, not doing enough to develop the blocks.
The notices show that in 15 blocks, the owners had met almost no milestone for development for two to five years.
Many were stuck because they were waiting for government clearances. About 11 companies have delayed their application for forest and environment clearance as well as application for mine-opening permission by anything between 2 years and 12 years.
In some cases, milestones have been achieved after the show-cause notice. Reliance Power, for instance, has started production from the coal blocks attached to the Sasan ultra mega power project (UMPP).
IMG, which reviewed 29 coal blocks for three days last week, will meet again on Wednesday to finalise its recommendations regarding mining licences to be revoked for non-satisfactory progress. The panel comprises members from the ministries of finance, coal, power, and law.
"The next meeting of IMG will be held on September 12 at 3 pm to deliberate and finalise its recommendations in respect of allocattees/companies which made presentations before it," a coal ministry statement said.
During its review last week, IMG heard presentations of owners of 29 coal blocks, including Jindal Steel and Power, Tata Steel and Reliance Power. Grasim Industries, Kesoram Industries, IST Steel & Power, SKS Ispat and Power, Bihar Sponge Iron are among the others to have appeared before the panel.
The coal ministry would also take into account the latest progress as reported by its Kolkata-based monitoring unit, Coal Controller's Organisation, before taking action against the coal block owners.
The ministry had in April this year issued notices to owners of 58 blocks that did not achieve the specified milestones. The companies were asked to explain the reasons for the delay. Twenty-nine coal blocks out of these are with public sector firms such as MMTC and state mining corporations of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa. Sources said the ministerial panel in its meeting on Wednesday may also decide the course for assessing performance of these state corporations.
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