Zee Media Bureau/Amartya Sinha
New Delhi: In a historic decision on Monday, the union government has decided to cancel the licenses of all 218 coal blocks affected by the coalgate scam.
Meanwhile the Attorney General of India- Mukul Rohtagi has informed the apex court that 40 coal blocks which are currently operational may be exempted if they fulfil condition of loss of Rs 295 per tonne and enter power purchase agreements.
It is learnt that the Supreme Court has asked the Attorney General to file an affidavit on the central government's stand by September 8. The apex court has also posted the matter for further hearing on September 9.
The government stood by the Supreme Court judgement which holds all coal block allocations between 1993 and 2010 as illegal, while opposing the earlier suggestion to set up a committee headed by a retired judge of the apex court to evaluate the consequences of the court's decision on the issue.
