Govt not to reconsider R-Power plea on output from coal blocks

New Delhi: Government has declined Reliance Power's request to reconsider restrictions on output from its mines in Moher and Moher Amlohri Extension blocks - linked to its Sasan UMPP as the case is in the court.

"In view of pendency of court case, your representations ...cannot be examined and no decision in the matter can be taken," the Coal Ministry said in a letter to the CMD of Sasan Power. The ministry had in June last year asked R-Power to restrict production from the two blocks to 16 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), from the current 20 MTPA.

However, the letter dated January 6, 2016, said the "company... vide its various letters No Nil dated 10th June, 2015, 16th June, 2015, 19th June, 2015, 17th July, 2015, 22nd September, 2015, and 1st December, 2015 has -represented the Ministry of Coal to reconsider the matter and withdraw the letter...dated 3rd June, 2015 of Ministry of Coal".

Sasan Power Ltd had filed a writ petition in July last year in the Delhi High Court "making Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Power and Power Finance Corporation etc. as respondents challenging the Gazette Notification...dated 7th May, 2015 and Ministry of Coal's letter...dated 3rd June, 2015". The ministry said that the court case is pending and the matter is subjudice. The government had earlier cancelled the allocation of one of the three coal blocks to Reliance Power's Sasan project in Madhya Pradesh.

The Supreme Court had scrapped allocations of 204 coal blocks in 2014. R-Power had earlier said its 3,960-MW Sasan thermal power project had been fully commissioned.