December 2012

In wake of the raging Coal Gate Scam, the Finance Ministry on 18 September 2012 asked for information related to bank loans of the mining companies. The ministry also asked details of companies not directly engaged in mining but collaterally engaged to coal blocks allocated from the public sector banks. The ministry also demanded details related to sanctioned and out-standing fund and non-funds of the companies along with their status of asset classification. The move of the ministry is a result of irregularities found in allocation of the coal-blocks to the 58 power and iron and steel companies, whose bank guarantees have been invoked by the Ministry of Coal followed by the recommendation made by the inter-ministerial group on coal or the de-allocation of the coal-blocks that is under process. The need for all these details by the finance ministry is in the wake of the report submitted by the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) of India related to non-transparent allocation of coal blocks, which lead to an estimated exchequer loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore.

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