Tells Supreme Court system was not transparent The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has widened its probe in the coal block allocation scam to cover the delay in introduction of bidding. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had continued with allocation of blocks through the screening committee route, as the proposal for bidding had been moving back and forth between government departments. CBI had last year limited itself to probing irregularities in the allocation of blocks, without going into the policy issue of bidding. Based on a Central Vigilance Commission reference, CBI had concentrated on investigating if coal blocks were allocated in a fair and transparent manner and if there was misuse of what was allotted to companies. Now, in response to a petition seeking a court-ordered inquiry into the scam, CBI has told the Supreme Court in an affidavit: “The enquiry is also looking into the allegation regarding the delay in tabling of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2008, before Parliament and whether the delay was by design.” The investigation agency has now included in the probe ambit the formation of joint ventures of private and government companies to get blocks reserved for government entities. “The system adopted by the authorities concerned in formation of joint ventures was not transparent and due diligence was not observed during the process. Some public servants had vested interest in the award of contracts for the development of mines or joint ventures with private parties,” said the affidavit. The agency now has three preliminary inquiries covering the allocation of blocks from 1993. It has obtained 700 files, running into 160,000 pages. The probe widening could bring the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) into the ambit. A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, tabled in Parliament last year, had alleged delays in introduction of bidding for blocks. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was officiating as the Cabinet minister for the coal ministry. There were objections from within the Union government and coal-bearing states. Though changes to the Act did not require concurrence of states, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal have maintained that in a federal set-up, it was prudent to take states on board. STAIN TRAIL Since Jun 1992 - A screening committee under coal secretary allotting mining rights for coal Since 2004 - Proposal for introduction of bidding for coal blocks under govt examination; Chhattisgarh and West Bengal oppose bidding Sept 2010 - Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act amended to make competitive bidding applicable to all minerals Aug 2012 - CAG report alleges financial gains of Rs 1.86 lakh crore to private companies in allocation of coal blocks Sept 9 and Oct 10, 2012 - CBI registered cases against nine companies; Information from unsuccessful applicants being sought for knowledge of illegality Feb 2012 - Ministry of Coal notifies auctioning of coal mine Sept 2012 - NGO Common Cause and lawyer M L Sharma file PIL in Supreme Court seeking cancellation of 194 blocks Jan 24, 2013 - SC questions the Centre’s power to allocate blocks P C Parakh, the coal secretary in 2004, had argued that the system of screening committees even after modifications would not be able to achieve the objectives of transparency and objectivity in the allocation of blocks. The PMO had raised some concerns on the fallout of bidding. Parakh dismissed the PMO’s objection and moved on with a draft Cabinet note. He highlighted the pulls and pressures the screening committee faced during decision making. It was felt that coal allocation could not wait. Dasari Narayana Rao, then minister of state for coal, insisted allocation of blocks could not be stopped for bidding. Besides, it was felt that applications conforming to norms could not be asked to go through bidding. So, a cut-off date of June 28, 2004, was set. A draft Cabinet note was ready in June 2005, but it was only in October 2008 that the mines minister introduced the Bill for amending the MMDR Act in Parliament. The law was passed in September 2010, and bidding norms notified in February 2012.