Coal ministry threatens taking back 97 mining blocks

"The ministry has decided to issue show-cause notices to various coal companies to de-allocate 93 coal and 4 lignite blocks for not making sincere efforts for the development of these blocks for the past several years,” said a ministry release.

The release said the ministry is constrained to issue notices as the mining companies have failed to respond properly to its reminders earlier to develop the blocks allocated to them at the earliest.

"Out of the 93 coal blocks, 45 had been given to government companies, while 48 had been allocated to the private sector, the release said.  "So far, the government has allocated 207 coal blocks for the development of coal resources," it added. All the four lignite blocks belongs to the private sector companies.

The ministry has also advised 23 other state-owned and private companies for an early development of the blocks allotted to them to avoid de-allocation, the release added. Owing to the increasing demand for coal, the government is making all efforts to enhance production through fast-tracking the development of coal blocks, it said, adding the de-allocation drive is part of this process.