NTPC to get deallocated mines after consultations with LawMin

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal
New Delhi: The Coal Ministry will take a call on giving back the de-allocated coal blocks of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) after consultations with the Law Ministry.

The development comes close on the heels of Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asking Coal Minister

Sriprakash Jaiswal to reconsider the decision on deallocation of four coal blocks, including three allotted to NTPC.

“The allocation of three mines of NTPC will be done after consultations with the Law Ministry,” a government official said. NTPC has said the formal reallocation of three mines in Jharkhand--Chatti-Bariatu, Kerandari and Chatti-Bariatu (South) ‘will be done immediately’. The decision to re-allocate the mines having an annual production capacity of 13 million tonne (MT) comes at a time when the state-run NTPC is grappling with fuel shortages that are hurting its electricity generation. The government cleared sale of its 9.5 per cent stake in NTPC, a move that could fetch the exchequer as much as Rs 13,000 crore.

Further, the re-allocation of coal blocks would push higher the company’s the overall valuation. “This in turn would help the government to get higher returns,” sources said.PTI