Ministerial panel to discuss bank guarantee of coal blocks soon

New Delhi: The inter-ministerial group (IMG) on coal blocks will meet next week to examine the issue of bank guarantee of coal blocks which was reviewed by it earlier. “It has been decided to hold the next meeting of IMG on 30 December …to undertake the review on the issue of bank guarantee (BG) of the coal block which were reviewed earlier by the IMG,” said the meeting notice.[caption id=“attachment_2016921” align=“alignnone” width=“380”]  Coal norms. Getty Images[/caption] The notice further said that the matter was considered in the coal ministry in consultation with law ministry which has opined that the decision to invoke or release BG will have to be considered on case-to-case basis by the government for implementation of the order of Delhi High Court. “Delhi High Court has delivered a common order dated October 30, 2014 in W P (C)…and 41 other connected matters filed against government’s action of deallocation and/or imposition/invocation of Bank Guarantee (BG) of the allocated coal blocks, directing the Union of India to dispose of the matter of BG in eight week’s time,” the notice said. “Petitions have been filed inter alia praying for the cancellation of the deallocation of the coal blocks which were allocated to the petitioners,” it said. IMG was set up under the chairmanship of additional secretary, coal, to review the progress of development of captive coal blocks alloted to private companies. The IMG has members from various ministries, including steel and power. PTI