The Supreme Court's ruling that coal block allotments made by the Union Government from 1993 to 2009 were done in an illegal manner, comes as a challenge and an opportunity for the Narendra Modi administration to set things right. The Prime Minister has got a suitable chance to iron out this unending prerogative of allotments which has been shrouded in controversy and corruption for long. Since Mr Modi himself loathes corruption, he must act fast. He must try to settle the issue through negotiations and effective appropriate measures with the companies concerned.
The Union Government must also review the status of coal blocks allocations deemed illegal by the court. This might be the only alternative to resolving the issue of loot in the coal scams, which has robbed the national exchequer of huge sums of money. The earlier Congress-led UPA regime had brushed the matter under the carpet or tried to gloss over it.