The blueprint for auction of coal blocks is likely to be ready in the next two weeks.
The coal ministry has sought attorney general Mukul Rohtagi's opinion on whether the government needs to bring out an ordinance to deal with the issues arising from the Supreme Court verdict quashing the allocation of 214 illegal coal blocks.
"The government's senior-most law officer has been holding meetings with coal ministry officials almost daily to discuss how to go about the auction in the light of the apex court's judgment. It will take at least two weeks for the process to complete," a law ministry official told dna.
Coal ministry officials are seeking Rohtagi's advice on bank guarantees being forfeited/imposed on companies, the cancellation of mining leases, the rights and titles of land purchased by the companies.
Giving a blow to the companies, including Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, the apex court on September 24 quashed 214 of 218 coal blocks allocated to various companies between the 1993 and 2010, terming the method adopted for allocation "arbitrary".
The court, however, spared four blocks — one each given to state-run NTPC Ltd and Steel Authority of India Ltd and the other two blocks awarded to a Reliance Power Ltd-owned 4,000 MW power plant saying it is Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) and "that was allotted through competitive bidding".
The court said the beneficiaries of the illegal process "must suffer" the consequences and refused to show sympathy to private companies, which submitted that Rs2.87 lakh crore had been invested in 157 coal block and Rs4 lakh crore in end-use plants. The companies were asked to wind up their operations by March 31, 2015 and the Centre was asked to take over the operations of those coal mines that are functional.
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