Supreme Court (SC) today cancelled all the coal block allocations made by the successive central governments between the years 1993 and 2009. The court said these allocations were made in a non-transparent and arbitrary manner.
The apex court today said that no objective criteria were followed and the guidelines were breached in coal block allocations.
Speaking on coal allocation issue lawyer Prashant Bhushan said, "The supreme court in a historic judgement related to the allocation of the coal blocks by the central government between 1993 and 2009 has declared that all the allocations made by the central government weather through the screening committee route or through the government allocation route to the public sector undertakings were all done in a non transparent manner and therefore all those allocations have been declared illegal and have been cancelled."
The court has scheduled a hearing on the first of September to decide on those allocations where the mining work has already begun.
Bench headed by Chief Justice R.M. Lodha, had said in January this year, huge investments by companies could not be a ground for not cancelling the license.
CAG report on coal block allocation had stated that nearly 150 coalfields were allotted to private and state-run firms without transparency and objectivity between 2005 and 2009.
The union minister Piyush Goyal has welcomed the decision on coal block allocations and said that it is in the country's favour.
The apex court today said that no objective criteria were followed and the guidelines were breached in coal block allocations.
All coal block allocations since 1993 till 2010 before pre-auction era have been done in illegal manner: SC.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 25, 2014
Speaking on coal allocation issue lawyer Prashant Bhushan said, "The supreme court in a historic judgement related to the allocation of the coal blocks by the central government between 1993 and 2009 has declared that all the allocations made by the central government weather through the screening committee route or through the government allocation route to the public sector undertakings were all done in a non transparent manner and therefore all those allocations have been declared illegal and have been cancelled."
The court has scheduled a hearing on the first of September to decide on those allocations where the mining work has already begun.
Full text of the #supremecourt's judgment holding coal block allotments as "arbitrary and illegal". http://t.co/ZrC0ufYoPA
— VidhiLegalPolicy (@VCLP_India) August 25, 2014
Bench headed by Chief Justice R.M. Lodha, had said in January this year, huge investments by companies could not be a ground for not cancelling the license.
CAG report on coal block allocation had stated that nearly 150 coalfields were allotted to private and state-run firms without transparency and objectivity between 2005 and 2009.
The union minister Piyush Goyal has welcomed the decision on coal block allocations and said that it is in the country's favour.
