The Centre on Tuesday failed to satisfy the Supreme Court in the case on coal block allocation scam. Judges insisted on going by minutes of the Screening Committee to grasp lapses in the block allocation policy that is under challenge from two separate PIls.
The Bench asked Attorney General GE Vahanvati, who appeared for the Centre, whether various methods adopted for allocation since 1992 had the sanction of law and to explain which law authorised the screening committee on allocation.
On learning that allocations between 1993 and 2003 were made by the Central Mine Planning & Design Institute lt (CMPDIl), the court asked how the job of identifying coal blocks was then shifted to the screening committee.
The AG tried to explain that under CMPDIl, 21 coal blocks were allocated from 1993 to 2003 and 27 during 2003-05. Of the 21 blocks, 17 became operational but out of the lot of 27, only four started operation. This point evoked concern from the Bench on the fate of the remaining.
At this juncture, the court asked Vahanvati, “We are on allocation process adopted by the screening committee. Show us from the records how and when the process was devised.”
The Attorney General asked the Bench to go by his oral submissions, but it insisted on going by the minutes. “What happened to the ones (blocks) which are not in operationIJ” it sought to know.
The Bench remained unimpressed by the submission that production was at an advanced stage in these blocks. “Explain how blocks were identified, when the applications were received, what the criteria for selection were and why there was no competitive bidding,” it told Vahanvati.
The top law officer then tried to explain that the Government’s policy to introduce private players in captive coal mining was based on estimates of the Eighth Plan,
where shortfall in power generation was 38,000 MW. This needed an investment of Rs 1.25 lakh crore.
The court also insisted on seeing all CMPDIl booklets for identifying blocks.
At the end, the Attorney General assured the court that he would satisfy all their queries and that there were no violations in allocations. He will continue arguments on Wednesday.