The government has issued a notice to Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation (JSMDCL) and sought explanation for the delay in development of the coal block allotted to it, as part of its initiative to weed out non-serious players sitting idle on reserves.
It is the third such notice issued to the state mining PSU in a fortnight, for inordinate delay in developing Latehar coal block in Jharkhand allocated to it in 2006.
The government has warned that if the company failed to respond then de-allocation process would be initiated for "violation of the terms and conditions."
"The company has repeatedly failed to keep it promises made on earlier occasions to this Ministry and thus appears to be non-serious about timely development of the block," the Coal Ministry said.
The latest notice issued on October 8 followed similar correspondence to the company on the development of Sugia closed mine block, Rauta close mine and Burakhap small patch, all in Jharkhand.
Including Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation, so far the government has issued notice to 29 companies, seeking explanation from them in 30 days from the date of issue of such notices, for not developing coal blocks allocated to them.
Last month, the government had said it was in the process of issuing show-cause notices to as many as 81 firms for violation of terms and conditions of the coal block developments.
In July, the ministry had convened a review meeting with the concerned companies, which have been allocated a total of 207 coal blocks for captive use under power, cement and steel projects.