CBI to submit report on coal blocks allocation on January 13

The CBI is expected to submit on Monday a sealed status report to the Supreme Court on developments in the probe into alleged irregularities in coal blocks allocation between 1993 and 2009.

In the ongoing court-monitored probe, the agency has so far registered 16 regular cases accusing several private companies, their directors and unknown government servants of entering into a conspiracy by extending undue favours, cheating and misrepresenting facts to obtain coal blocks.

In most cases, the agency found that the companies had not even begun mining.

The Centre earlier this week conceded before the Court that “in hindsight, we can say something has gone wrong, and some correction is required to be done”, and Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati submitted that the government would apprise the Court of its decision on the matter in a week.

A-G recommends cancellation of blocks

The A-G is learnt to have recommended to the government that coal blocks allocated to private companies post-2005 be cancelled, in case the requisite mining licences have been not issued to them.

While it might take a decision on allocations made from 2005, the CBI is probing suspected irregularities in 195 coal blocks allocated between 1993 and 2009.

The agency has instituted separate preliminary enquiries pertaining to the allocations made during 1993-2005 and 2006-2009.

Pursuant to a Supreme Court directive, it has also launched an inquiry into the missing coal block files.

Among prominent persons accused in the coal block cases are Congress MPs Vijay Darda and Naveen Jindal, former Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayana Rao, Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and former Coal Secretary P.C. Parakh.

Earlier this week, the CBI registered two more cases against BLA Industries and Castron Technologies for being allocated coal blocks despite alleged ineligibility. The allocation were made between 1993 and 2005.