An inter-ministerial panel of the Coal Ministry on Tuesday decided to give a “reasonable time” to 10 coal blocks including those belonging to Jindal Steel and Power ltd (JSPl), Tata Steel and JSW Steel, to seek Stage-II Forest Clearances (FC), failing which they face the threat of being cancelled.
The Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) which is headed by Additional Secretary in Coal Ministry A K Dubey held a meeting during the day and as the mandate of the gathering was that in the case of these 10 blocks, it was to be ascertained whether FC Stage-II from the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) for them would be “forthcoming within a reasonable time”, they were granted time to do so.
Though sources privy to the development, declined to comment on the quantum of time in which the FC Stage-II would be given to these blocks, the point is that for the time being, they have been given a breather. At the same time, in case there is a delay in getting the necessary clearance or if the green nod from MoEF does not come at all, then the 10 blocks even face the possibility of being cancelled. Of the 10 blocks, two coal blocks - Mahan, jointly alloted to Essar Power ltd and Durgapur II/Sarya, alloted to D B Power ltd - are said to have obtained stage-II FC.
The coal blocks reviewed by the IMG included Rohne coal block in Jharkhand - jointly allocated to JSW Steel and Bhushan Power and Steel ltd; Jitpur coal block in Jharkhand allocated to JSPl; Brinda and Sasai coal blocks in Jharkhand allocated to Abhijeet Infrastructure ltd, and Ganeshpur coal block in Jharkhand alloted to Tata Steel and Adhunik Thermal Energy; lohari block situated in Jharkhand held by Usha Martin; Dumri block in Jharkhand held by Nilachal Iron & Power Generation and Bajrang Ispat Pvt ltd; and Moitra block again located in Jharkhand which is owned by Jayaswal Neco ltd.