Supreme Court says November 9 electronic coal block auction will be subject to final ruling
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court today ordered that the November 9 electronic auction of 37 blocks of coal, including five in Jharkhand, be subject to its final decision.
A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian asked the Center to inform bidders that benefits of any kind to them will be provisional and subject to Supreme Court orders.
Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the Center, said no trees would be cut in the area.
On November 4, the higher court said it intended to pass an order that any proposed mining block within 50 kilometers of an environmentally sensitive area would not be auctioned online for commercial purposes in the Jharkhand.
While saying it only wanted to ensure that “the forests are not destroyed,” the Supreme Court also said it was considering setting up an expert committee to examine whether an area near the proposed mining sites in the Jharkhand was classified as an environmentally sensitive area.
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