The verdict on coal blocks is a corollary of what SC held earlier: Partha Bhattacharya

In a chat with ET Now, Partha Bhattacharya, Former Chairman, Coal India, talks about the cancellation of coal block allocations. Excerpts:

ET Now: All coal blocks have been cancelled, except the government run non-JV allotments. Your initial thoughts?

Partha Bhattacharya: People expected it to happen when the court had declared all these allocations as illegal. So, if everything is already illegal, it is then not a very difficult decision to make. I believe this decision is a corollary of what the court had held as far as the allocations were concerned.

ET Now: Do you think this is a very harsh decision considering the economic reality? Captive coal will be the mainstay for the power industry after the cancellation of coal allocations. Will the problems only get messier?

Partha Bhattacharya: For the court, it is not a question of harsh or soft. The question is of illegality. The court must have arrived at this conclusion only after a thorough deliberation.