Telangana: Coal blocks can be allocated without consulting state govt, says Centre

Hyderabad: The Union minister of Coal, Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday put forth that consulting a state government before allocating coal blocks is not mandatory.

The minister while replying to a question raised by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MP Nama Nageswara Rao in the Lok Sabha on the allocation of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) coal blocks to private companies, said that the coal blocks have been allocated to private companies across the country through auction route.

“However, no coal blocks of the SCCL have been allocated to private companies,” he added.

Briefing on the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, the minister said, “as per the provisions of the Act, only the Union government is empowered to select the allocatee of coal mines in the public interest.”

“The Act does not provide for the necessity of any consent or right to first refusal from the State where the block is located,” remarked the minister.

The provisions under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act also does not mandate consultation with the state government before the allocation of coal blocks, Pralhad Joshi said.