leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly Bhupinder Singh (Congress) on Friday said that there is still time for Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to recommend a CBI inquiry into the coal block allotments in the State to prove his innocence and transparency in the State administration.
Addressing a Press conference here, Singh reacted sharply against the “clarification” Patnaik made to the Prime Minister regarding the coal block allotment to Hindalco when nobody asked him to do so. “If the Chief Minister is so clean on the coal block allotment, why did he remain silent to an Assembly question and the demand for a White Paper on coal block allotment in 2009,” he asked.
Singh pointed out that the Supreme Court has observed, “The decision taken by the State Government is not in terms of the directions of the revisional authority and has been taken in hot haste and without due application of mind” in recommendation to the Union Government for allotting the coal block.
The court also observed, “The State Government has taken different stands at different points of time for different applicants.
The stand taken by the Government is totally inconsistent and the Mineral Policy of the State is totally in a mess and the State Government has adopted a policy that would suit to the situation and suit to favoured parties.” If the Chief Minister is so transparent, why he has not come forward with a White Paper, Singh questioned.
Patnaik’s present clarification to the Prime Minister regarding Hindalco is baseless as long as he has not issued clarification as to how many such favours have been shown to other companies and what types of value additions have been made to coal after this allotment. The Chief Minister should also clarify what State interests have been served through this coal block allotment, Singh said.
The proposal of coal block allotment to Hindalco was rejected by Naveen Patnaik while he was a Minister in the NDA Government, Singh recalled.