Centre may cancel coal blocks allocated to CMDC

Inter-ministerial panel to decide its fate on Oct 9

Raipur, October 03, 2012

The Centre is likely to de-allocate coal blocks given to Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation (CMDC), if the inter-ministerial committee which will hear the cases of total 47 coals blocks of different states in its October 9 meeting at New Delhi, will find that the CMDC had flouted norms by handing over the job of commercial mining and exploration of coal blocks to ineligible companies. The state government has recently received information pertaining to the panel meeting.

Notably, the CMDC has obtained four coal blocks from Centre – two in Chhattisgarh - Bhatgaon-II and Bhatgaon-II Extension and two in Orissa – Chendipada and Chendipada-II.

The CMDC formed joint venture companies and handed over all the blocks to private hands through bidding. While the two coal blocks in Chhattisgarh were given to SMS Infrastructure Limited owned by BJP MP Ajay Sancheti and his kin, the Orissa coal blocks were given to Adani group – the company owned by Gautam Adani.

The Congress sniffs huge irregularity in the CMDC’s bidding process for four coal blocks.

It alleges that the SMS Infrastructure Limited was roped in for Chhattisgarh’s coal blocks despite its ineligibility and merely because of closeness of Sancheti brothers with BJP president Nitin Gadkari while Adani Group got the Orissa coal blocks due to his closeness with Gujarat CM Narendra Modi.

In this connection, the state Congress president Nandkumar Patel and party MLA Mohammad Akbar had lodged complaint to the Centre submitting documental evidences.

The Congress is hopeful that the state government would fail to defend CMDC’s decisions and the inter-ministerial panel will recommend the Centre for cancellation of all the four coal blocks.

The principal opposition in the state is eagerly awaiting the decision in its favour as it plans to chalk out its future course of action against the ruling party accordingly.