Madhu Koda next in firing line? CBI finds irregularities in block allotments during ex-CM’s tenure

NEW DELHI: There seems to be trouble in store for Jharkhand’s former chief minister Madhu Koda, as the CBI has found that the state government gave recommendations for 13 coal blocks to private companies during his tenure, out of which the agency has found irregularities like misrepresentation of facts, net worth by the firms to which four of these blocks were allocated, while also alleging bias on part of his government.
A CBI source said, “The enquiry has revealed that three coal blocks given during Koda’s regime were given to dummy companies which were formed just before the allocation. We will look into the background of these companies and their joint venture group.” Sources said that the second set of FIRs will also be along the same lines. The agency has already registered five FIRs in the Coalgate scam. Koda and other state representatives who attended the meetings in connection with two private companies — Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd — which got the Rajhara (North) coal block and have been booked by the CBI, are already under the agency’s scanner and will be questioned soon.
In the FIR against the two companies, the CBI has alleged : “They showed 15 companies in their joint venture group having net worth of Rs 86 crore and turnover of Rs 768 crore. Inquiries revealed that only six firms were in the group and their original net worth was Rs 37 crore and their turnover was only only Rs 28 crore,” adding that the owners of Vini Iron sold the company soon after.
Investigations by the agency had found that Vini Iron had been given a negative feedback by the Jharkhand government headed by Arjun Munda at that time.
But during Madhu Koda’s tenure, the company sold its stakes to Vijay Joshi, who was Koda’s close aide, immediately after which the firm won the state’s backing while also bagging the Rajhara North block.
CBI believes that Vini Iron’s modus operandi was followed for the other coal blocks as well.