Coal Ministry may review decision on cancellation of licences to Tatas, Jindals: Report
The report said inter ministerial group (IMG) will meet again to review the decision and is expected to be a tough exercise as the CBI, CAG and the Supreme Court stay closely attached with so-called coalgate scam.
The report also quoted an official as saying "The Odisha state government has written to the coal ministry that it was just on the brink of awarding the required regulatory clearances. Therefore, the coal ministry has decided to take a re-look at its earlier decision. There is also lot of pressure from the companies."
The move also comes after top industrialists and associations criticized the coal ministry for cancelling the licences causing huge losses.
According to the report, the cases which would be review by ministry include North of Arkhapal block belonging to Strategic Energy Technology Systems — a consortium of Tata Sons and Sasol Synfuels International (Proprietary) of South Africa - and the Ramchandi Promotional block attached to the country's pilot coal-to-liquid projects worth Rs 45,000 crore. The blocks are among the largest awarded captive mines with 1,500 MT of reserves each.
Jindal Steel & Power's Utkal B1 and Bhushan Steel's Jamkhani coal blocks, that were penalised, will also be reviewed.