The Union Government on Thursday admitted through attorney general Goolam E Vahanvati before the Supreme Court that "something went wrong with the coal blocks allocation" and that it could have been done in a more refined manner.
Attorney general Vahanvati told a three-judge bench headed by Justice RM Lodha that, "We took decision in good faith but something turned out to be wrong,"
He said, virtually accepting that mistakes were committed by the government in coal blocks allocation,"In hindsight, we can say something has gone wrong and some correction is required to be done," .
Vahanvati's response came after the bench observed that the exercise could have been done in a "far better manner", when the AG said, "Everything could have been done in more refined and better manner. I accept my lordships view,".
INDIA HONEST judges some crucial facts as given by the union government on the subject as follows ,
"Vahanvati has suggested for the cancellation of all post-2005 coal block allocation where license had not yet been granted, as out of 32 allocation made by the Centre since 2005, only two licenses have been issued by the states. The attorney general told the court that he had given his opinion to the government but it was for the Centre to accept it or reject it. He also said the allocation letters were not bankable documents and did not confer a right on allocates to seek license for mining. The Supreme Court then asked if the allocation letter was so innocuous, why was the Centre dithering so long to cancel the allocations that were alleged to be irregular and the bench asked the AG about the Centre's stand on de-allocation of certain coal blocks. In response, Vahanvati submitted the government would next week make its stand clear on the issue".
"The AG had in September 2013 submitted that coal blocks allocation was merely a letter of intent and does not confer any right to the companies over the natural resource which is decided by the state government and further contended that decision of coal blocks allocation to companies is only the first stage and firms get rights over coal only when they start mining for which they have to take various clearances".
IH observes this as one big tragedy with Indian economy for the last one decade's rule of UPA 1&2, when a weak, undecided prime minister in Manmohan Singh, never understood the importance/utility/necessity of coal for the industry and national economy, and delayed resolving the anomaly in the coal allocation, thus ruining the prospect of growth and survival of various industries including the vital steel industries and thus causing huge loss to the Indian economy, far greater than the loss due to recession faced by world due to Euro crisis.
INDIA HONEST wants to know, if the Congress party has the guts to accept that, their gross blunder in Coalgate has turned them the big culprit before the nation for the de-growth of the national economy and hardship to nation ?