CVC refers coal block allocation plaint to CBI

On a complaint by two Bharatya Janata Party MPs, the Central Vigilance Commission has referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation the alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks to public and private companies between 2006 and 2009.

The CBI reportedly held a meeting on Thursday in which the issue was discussed in detail.

Anna Hazare and his team of anti-corruption vigilantes have alleged that coal blocks were handed out arbitrarily when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the coal minister. While Hazare is getting increasingly discredited for his direct attacks on the prime minister, a CBI investigation could provide fresh fodder to the opposition.

The complaint by BJP MPs Prakash Javadekar and Hansraj Ahir was forwarded by the CVC to the CBI about four months ago, but the agency's response is not known.

According to a Times of India report, the CBI is expected to take a decision on the matter next week after its director A P Singh returns from a visit to Bhutan.

In their complaint to the CVC, the two BJP MPs drew attention to the way the government had gone about allocating coal blocks to private companies. "Instead of going through auction or waiting for a new policy [making auction of coal blocks mandatory] to be adopted, the government speeded up the allocations through the old policy," Ahir told the media today.
"We have demanded a detailed investigation into the way coal blocks were allocated starting 2006," Ahir, a member of the parliamentary committee on coal and steel, said.

Both Ahir and Javadekar welcomed the CVC's move, saying there was an "urgent" need to get to the bottom of the entire issue.