Govt to decide on idle coal blocks with 82 firms

Tuesday, 28 December 2010, 06:07 IST
Printer Print Email Email
New Delhi: The government today said it would decide next month the fate of captive coal blocks lying idle with 82 companies, including ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel and NTPC, who have been issued notices for not developing them within the stipulated time. "We have received their (companies') replies and are compiling them. We will take the final decision in January on the issue," Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal told PTI. Since October, the government has issued notices to 82 firms to weed out non-serious players who have failed to develop, within the stipulated time, the coal blocks allotted to them for captive use. While threatening to withdraw their coal blocks, the government had asked the firms to explain their positions. "Enhancing coal production is a priority for the government and we can take the coal blocks back, if they are not developed in a given time-frame," Jaiswal said.
Source: PTI