The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre on alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks in 2004, as noted by the Comptroller and Auditor-General, and sought an explanation on the guidelines and policies followed in these allotments.
A bench of Justices R.M. Lodha and A.R. Dave gave the coal ministry eight weeks to file an affidavit in response to a PIL seeking cancellation of all 194 coal blocks.
Saying the issue “requires explanation from the government”, the court asked the Centre why the process of competitive bidding was not followed, and whether there was any deviation from the allocation guidelines in the process. The bench also took note that several politicians and their relatives were among those allotted blocks irregularly.
The court wanted to know what steps the government proposed to take against allottees who have not adhered to the terms of allocation or breached the agreement. It also asked if the allocation guidelines had overlooked the safety mechanism to provide “largesse” to private parties, and if the government’s objectives in coal block allocations had been achieved through the present mode, faulted by the CAG.