Coal block allocation: Supreme Court to decide on government's plea to spare operational mines

Naveen Jindal-led Jindal Steel & Power Ltd ( JSPL) will be the biggest gainer if the Supreme Court accepts the government’s plea to spare 40 operational and six soon-to-be-operational mines from cancellation.

The company owns nine captive coal blocks, of which three are producing. The apex court will decide the fate of the rest on September 9. Steel Authority of India Ltd ( SAIL), Monnet Ispat & Steel, Prakash Industries, Sunflag Industries, Electrosteel Castings and state utilities of West Bengal and Karnataka are some other developers of the 40 operational mines that are expected to produce 50 million tonnes of coal in the current financial year.

NTPC, GVK, Jaiprakash Associates are some owners of the upcoming mines that are likely to escape de-allocation. However, all these companies are likely to pay hefty penalties to be decided by the court.