Apex court verdict on coal stumps Chhattisgarh corporate

The Supreme Court declaring as "arbitrary and illegal" the allocation of 153 coal blocks between 1993 and 2010 had put the corporate in a fix in mineral-rich state of Chhattisgarh.

Following the court ruling, 37 coal blocks allotted in Chhattisgarh over a period of two decades straddling in the regimes of UPA and NDA government had come under the scanner.

Of the 37 blocks, 24 coal blocks had been allocated to 50 private companies while 13 coal blocks were given to nine private companies.What had concerned the government authorities in Chhattisgarh was the fate of the investment proposals that had been lined up for the state.

According to industry department officials, proposals worth about Rs 2 lakh crore had been pending to take shape in the state that had been endowed with rich minerals."Of the total proposals, power sector was supposed to draw an estimated investment of Rs 1 lakh crore," Anil Nachrani, President of Chhattisgarh Udyog Chamber, told Business Standard.

The investment in the power sector had now come under the scanner and it would have a severe impact on state's economy, he added. Officials said proposals worth Rs 1 lakh crore was taking shape in the state that would now stranded.

"If the industrial investment in the state was abandoned, Chhattisgarh will stand to incur a revenue loss of Rs 15,000 crore," a senior state government official said.