New Delhi: The CBI on Friday said the about turn taken by Coal Ministry to first reject and then allocate Talabira-II and III coal block to Kumar Mangalam Birla-owned Hindalco was taken in "larger interest of the country" and in view of the "federal regal frame work".
Justifying?its closure report in the case of alleged irregularities in allocation of Talabira-II and III coal blocks in Odisha to Hindalco, the agency said the evidence collected during investigation did not substantiate the allegations levelled against the persons named in the FIR which included Birla and former Coal Secretary P C Parakh.
The agency which filed its FIR naming Birla and Parakh after doing 16-months of preliminary enquiry on Friday said there was no illegality in the allocation of coal blocks to Hindalco.
In its FIR, the agency had alleged that during the 25th Screening Committee meeting, chaired by Parakh, applications of Hindalco and Indal Industries were rejected for mining in Talabira II and III "citing valid reasons" but later took an about turn after a personal meeting with Birla.
"The decision to accommodate the said firm of Mumbai in Talabira-II coal block in partial modification of the recommendation of the 25th meeting of the Screening Committee was found to be a case of incorporating both the views of the Screening Committee and the Government of Odisha.
"It was taken in larger interest of the country and in view of the federal regal frame work wherein most of the statutory clearances are accorded by the concerned State Government," CBI spokesperson Kanchan Prasad said while trying to justify agency's closure report.
Prasad said the Odisha Government?had also supported the case of said firm of Mumbai in pursuance to an MoU signed with the said firm to set up an Aluminium refinery for which a captive power plant was proposed to be set up in the state.
"The allegation that the proposed 2000 MW power project of Odisha-based company could not take off as planned on account of accommodating Mumbai-based company in Talabira-II coal block was also not substantiated by investigation," she said.
Immediately after the case was registered by the agency on October 15, 2013, Prime Minister's office had given a detailed clarification saying, "the Prime Minister is satisfied that the final decision taken in this regard was entirely appropriate and is based on the merits of the case placed before him."
The agency's decision to file the FIR in which it accused Birla and Parakh of criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct on the part of government officials had come under criticism from the former Coal Secretary who said in his book that "CBI is either outright incompetent or is playing a deeper game."
He blamed CBI Director Ranjit Sinha of abusing his office by accusing him and Birla of conspiracy and corruption.
