AAP alleges scam in coal mining by Adani Enterprise, demands probe by central agencies

'It's a big scam by Adani under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's protection,' the AAP's Sanjay Singh charged

The AAP on Friday alleged a "scam" in the mining and delivery of coal by Adani Enterprise Limited in Chhattisgarh in a joint venture with the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited, and demanded a probe by central agencies.

Addressing a press conference, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Sanjay Singh claimed that Adani Enterprise Limited (AEL) has been carrying out mining operations at the Parsa and the Kente extension coal blocks in Chhattisgarh under the joint venture in "blatant" violation of a 2014 Supreme Court judgment and a law enacted in 2015.

"It's a big scam by Adani under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's protection," the Rajya Sabha MP charged.

Singh said the Supreme Court had cancelled the allocation of the Parsa and the Kente coal blocks along with others in 2014, yet they continue to remain with the Rajasthan government for mining in a joint venture with AEL. "Why did not Modi ji cancel these two blocks," he asked.

Also Read | Adani to set up cement plants, data centre in Andhra Pradesh

On Februray 27, The Supreme Court had said it will hear on March 14 pleas related to a coal block allocation in Chhattisgarh to the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL) and mining operations by AEL.

Following the apex court verdict in 2014, Singh said, the Modi government brought a new law for allocation of coal blocks in 2015 and provided that states can enter into a joint venture with private companies for mining in which the share of the state will be 74 per cent and that of the private entity 26 per cent.

"Contrary to the said provision in the law, Adani's share in the joint venture is 75 per cent and that of Rajasthan 26 per cent," the AAP leader alleged, adding that "with this Adani has got ownership right while it should have been with the state government".

Singh also claimed that AEL has permission to sell 25 per cent of the coal rejected for use in power generation after extraction according to an agreement signed by the company with RRVUNL. The law stipulates that the private partner in the joint venture cannot do so, he said.

"With this, it becomes an interesting game because permission to take 25 per cent of the rejected coal means AEL gets for free at least 250 million tonnes of coal of the total 1,000 million tonnes of coal that it will extract," he alleged.

While coal with gross calorific value of 2,200 kcal can be used for power generation according to Coal India, the agreement signed between AEL and RRVUNL stipulates that coal less than gross calorific value of 4,000 kcal would not be fit for use in power generation and hence, would be considered rejected, the AAP leader claimed.

"I will write to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and the ED (Enforcement Directorate) for investigation in this scam. If they do not take any action, we will approach the court. We will also raise this issue in Parliament as well," Singh said.