'UPA brought transparency in allotment of coal blocks'

Reiterating that the UPA government followed the policy on coal blocks formulated in 1993, Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal on Wednesday said it was the Manmohan Singh government which brought transparency in the allotment of coal blocks.

"Whatever coal blocks were allotted during UPA-1 regime had been with the consent of state governments with chief secretary-level officer being present at screening committee that decided allotments," Jaiswal said in reply to a query at a press conference here.

Asserting that there was no irregularities committed in the allotment, he said a total of 206 coal blocks had been allotted between 1993 and 2009 covering the regimes headed by HD Deve Gowda, I K Gujral, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the UPA-1 with the only aim to increase production of coal to meet the increasing demand and UPA just followed established norms.

Jaiswal, however, regretted that some of those who got coal blocks could not start production while rehabilitation and resettlement problems also posed stumbling blocks in making coal blocks operative.

In all, 29 coal blocks were functioning while 26 out of 58 coal blocks allotted in the first phase were cancelled, he said.

Notices, he added, were served to 58 others, who got the blocks in the second phase, asking them why their allotment should not be cancelled and they had not yet replied to the letters issued by the union government.

Jaiswal was here to review the performance of the Bharat Coking Coal Limited.