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'DNA' investigation: Guess who’s got the steel to get coal on the block

Over 1,800 acres of a coal block in the command area of CCL and whose land acquisition was completed by the public sector unit was literally handed on a platter to the Tata Iron & Steel Company Ltd in 2005.

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Over 1,800 acres of a coal block in the command area of Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) and whose land acquisition was completed by the public sector unit was literally handed on a platter to the Tata Iron & Steel Company Ltd in 2005.

Following Tisco’s requests to get a chunk of the 3,070-acre Hurdag coal block in Jharkhand, the ministry of coal (MoC)  made the allocation without so much as consulting CCL.

The land for the block was acquired by CCL, a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd, in 1981 under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957, which forbids transferring such land to others.

Despite completing the land acquisition and rehabilitation of the project-affected people, the PSU was compelled to hand over 1,879 acres of the block to Tata Steel for its Jamshedpur unit’s coal requirement of 5 million tonnes per annum.

A coal ministry letter, dated August 11, 2005, to Tata Steel referred to a letter dated January 29, 1998, and subsequent letters regarding “allocation of Kotre-Basantpur and Pachmo coal blocks [Hurdag coal block] in the command area of CCL”. The government had consented to allocate the block in Tisco’s favour, the letter said. The same day, the ministry directed CCL to hand over this portion of the block.

Tisco paid compensation to CCL in lieu of the 1879.50 acres of land. “Just on the basis of a request by Tisco, the coal ministry snatched a block belonging to CCL. Land acquisition and rehabilitation was completed by the PSU and the corporate house got it on a platter,” said Ramendra Kumar, former MP and Communist Party of India (CPI) national secretary.

The ministry also violated provisions of the CBA Act. “The act clearly stipulates that land acquired under CBA cannot be transferred or sold,” said Lakhan Mahto, a member of the joint consultative committee of CCL who is also employed with CCL and belongs to the Hurdag area.

After the land, transfer of mineral rights was the next bone of contention. To see the deal through, the central government told CCL to surrender its mining rights to the government of Jharkhand first, and then later transferred the same to Tisco. CCL wrote to the secretary, mines & geology department of the government of Jharkhand on April 08, 2008, surrendering its mining rights.

Allocation of the block was a clear violation of the MoC’s own guidelines framed in 1993 and modified later, under which, before putting a block under the captive list, consultations were mandatory with public sector companies and the Coal Mine Planning and Design Institute Ltd (CMPDIL), another subsidiary of CIL. From the blocks identified, MoC would then invite applications and a screening committee would allocate the blocks.

In this case, CCL was never consulted. In fact, CCL later requested CMPDIL to ensure that its views are sought in advance regarding blocks in its command area.

Secondly, the MoC did not consult CMPDIL before de-allocating the block from CCL. “This is clear as the list of coal blocks given by CMPDIL to MoC for de-allocation from CIL and its subsidiaries does not include this,” said Kumar.

While some mining activity was being carried out by CCL in the block, it remains unclear if the company had started production from the very portions of land that were eventually transferred. Asked under the Right to Information Act whether it had planned not to mine the Hurdag block, CCL said, “Project and Planning is not aware of any such decision that CCL decided not to carry out mining activities in Hurdag block.”

A spokesperson for Tata Steel said the allocation of the block was in accordance with the rules. “Hurdag is a part of Kotre Basant Pachmo Coalmine Project. This was given to Tata Steel for its expansion plan, as you may be aware that Tata Steel imports 50 per cent of its total coal requirements. Tata Steel has settled all the terms and conditions in compliance with CCL’s agreement. Kumar said giving away an operational block of a PSU is nothing less than “loot of public resources”. Last September, Kumar wrote to prime minister Manmohan Singh and the chief vigilance commissioner  demanding an inquiry. After a year, the MoC’s report is awaited.

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