BeyondHeadlines News Desk
Controversy flares up over missing coal block files and the dust is yet to settle on the matter as a whole. Amid this a new revelation is sure to make things difficult for the Congress-led UPA government.
Environment NGO Greenpeace had filed RTI applications with the Ministry of Coal, which in turn replied that the documents are already with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“The information sought on copies of applications of the companies who have been allocated coal blocks, it is informed that all the applications along with annexures or enclosures, in original, are in the custody of Central Bureau of Investigation,” the Ministry replied to RTIs filed by Greenpeace.
The NGO said it filed an RTI on 28th August 2012 asking for information on coal blocks allocation from 1993 to 2012. Director Appellate Authority, Ministry of Coal, P S S Reddy replied saying that the documents were available with the CBI.
Greenpeace applied again for the same information and received the same response on 28th February 2013. The NGO reasoned that “The RTIs nail Coal Ministry’s lie”.
“On both the occasions the Coal Ministry claimed that the files related to allocations of coal block from 1993-2012 are all with CBI,” Greenpeace said in a release.
The NGO also stated it had received another RTI reply from the Ministry of Environment and Forest on 23 December 2011 stating that files relating to Mahan Coal Block were untraceable. It sought information pertaining to the missing files of Amelia and Mahan Coalmine Projects.
“This is with reference to your aforesaid application and to state that as per records available in the section, one file namely Mahan Opencast Coal mine Project of M/s Mahan Coal Com. is not traceable,” the Ministry said in its reply to the RTI query.
The Ministry had said both Mahan and Amelia Coal Mine Project files were kept in Vigyan Bhawan located at R K Puram in New Delhi; “however, only the file on Mahan Coal Block is missing.”
Greenpeace alleged that Mahan coal block has also been named in the coalgate scam being probed by the CBI.
