As much as 28,000 MW of power generation capacity may be affected if the Supreme Court were to cancel coal mines that it has declared illegally allocated between 1993 and 2010, a senior official from consultancy firm Deloitte has said.
The apex court on Monday ruled that all coal block allocations done since 1993 were illegal. The final decision on the fate of these blocks is likely to be taken on September 1.
The 28,000 MW capacity includes output from both state-run and private sector projects.
“There are IPPs (independent power producers) that have direct allocation of coal blocks and some were developing mines allocated to State Mineral Development Corporations – both put together there may be almost 26,000-28,000 MW of capacity that will be affected by the decision of SC,” Deloitte senior director (consulting) Debasish Mishra said.
Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal hailed the apex court’s decision and said that the government was ready to act quickly once the court delivered its final view on the coal mines allocation.
He told reporters that the government was awaiting the Supreme Court to deliver its final view on how the mines “illegally” allocated between 1993 and 2010 should be treated.
The apex court, which examined the allocation of 218 blocks, said, “Common good and public interest have, thus, suffered heavily” as “there was no fair and transparent procedure, all resulting in unfair distribution of the national wealth”.
—PTI