Government to suspend work in 13 coal blocks of scam-hit companies

NEW DELHI: The government will suspend development work in all the coal blocks of the 13 companies named by the CBI in a corruption scandal involving allotment of resources, according to a senior official.

The move is likely to hurt the development plans of power and sponge-iron projects attached to these coal blocks, which are estimated to hold about 3,200 million tonnes of reserves.

The coal ministry has decided not to take up issues related to over 20 blocks attached to the firms that were named by the CBI in its probe into whether there were irregularities in the award of mining rights.

A top coal ministry official clarified that the decision will apply to all the blocks of the companies named by the CBI and not just the ones for which they have been booked.