The Central government on Thursday admitted before the Supreme Court that something went wrong in the development and regulation of coal blocks. "Ideally coal block allocation should have been a consultative exercise with the state governments and it could have been done in a better way," said Attorney General of India GE Vahanvati.
However, Vahanvati added that the decision of allocations was taken in good faith. "We took decision in good faith but something turned out to be wrong," he said.
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The Centre was responding to states governments affidavit over the coal blocks allocation. The states governments' affidavit says that they have no role in the allocation of coal blocks and it was solely the Centre's decision.
However, the Centre has denied it saying that the state too had role in coal blocks allocation as clearances like environment are given by the state government.
This is for the first time that the Centre has admitted any error on its side in the alleged scam. The Centre has faced much flak from the Opposition over coalgate and still continues to haunt the government as crucial files required by the CBI have gone missing from the records.
The CBI has already filed two more FIRs against two companies and unknown officials of the Coal Ministry. The FIRs relates to allocation of blacks during NDA regime.
CBI is also in the process of closing one of the PEs, in which it was probing alleged irregularities in Anil Ambani's ADAG group run Ulta Mega Power Project (UMPP) in Sasan, Madhya Pradesh citing a policy decision vetted by empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM).
No further PE in the matter is likely to be closed, the official said. The preliminary enquiry was registered on the directions of Supreme Court which had asked the CBI to probe.
CBI sources said it has come to the light that use of surplus coal from the Sasan UMPP was approved on two separate occasions by two EGoMs. They said since it was a policy decision, CBI was not likely to question it. "The allocation of coal mines to the Sasan project was done to a 100 per cent government-owned company in 2006 when our company Reliance Power had not even won the project.
Government disinvested its shares to Reliance pursuant to a Global Tender in the year 2007. "The use of surplus coal from the Sasan UMPP has been approved on two separate occasions by two EGoMs," the CBI had said. Aditya Birla Group Chairman KM Birla and former Coal Secretary PC Parakh have already been named in one of the coal scam cases.
The allegations of any misconduct have been denied by Birla and Parakh. CBI has also registered case against Naveen Jindal, his company Jindal Steel and Power Limited and former coal minister N Dasari Rao in another coal scam related FIRs. Both the accused have refuted allegations.
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had in May 2013 referred to CBI the case of alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks to public and private companies which has brought the government under attack from opposition. The CVC had then forwarded the case to CBI to probe the alleged irregularities in the coal block allocation by the Centre.
CBI is looking into coal blocks allocation since 1993 by respective governments-- including BJP-led National Democratic Alliance regime from 1998 to 2004 as well as those given during United Front rule in 1996-98.
The practice to give captive coal blocks to private power, steel and cement firms had begun in 1993, following an amendment to the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act.
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