‘ Exempted mines must compensate’
Attorney- general Mukul Rohatgi said that the exempted coal mines should meet the condition of compensating the loss of ` 295 per tonne bore by the government and enter into a power purchase agreement at ` 95 per tonne to cover up the loss.
The court was told that there was a need to save these 40 coal blocks from “guillotine of cancellation” as improbability of coal availability would affect the plants as the country is anyway facing acute shortage of power supply.
Mr Rohatgi also claimed that the government wasn’t in favour of setting up of any committee comprising its retired judges as suggested by the top court to analyse the consequences of the verdict on the allocation which has been held as illegal.
Mr Rohatgi told the bench of justices Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph, “We don’t want any committee. If it has to go, all ( coal block allocations) must go. My thought is the government view.”
The court has asked the Centre to file an affidavit on its stand. “Union is very clear that auction should take place. They are very clear that all the 218 coal blocks be put under auction,” said the bench.
The bench also made an observation that the allocations have been found to be altogether illegal. “Therefore it ( Centre) wants to start from a clean slate,” added the court.