Centre says it ‘favours cancellation’ of coal block allocations declared illegal by SC

New Delhi: The Union government on Tuesday said that it favours the cancellation of coal blocks allocation, declared illegal by the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, companies, who were allocated coal blocks, plead the top court not to cancel allocation without hearing them.

The Centre also said that cancellation of ‘illegal’ coal block allocation is a natural consequence.

Last month, SC had said that all coal licenses issued since 1994 were illegal and didn’t follow a transparent bidding process.

The government's top lawyer, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, had told judges that the Centre was open to re-auctioning the coal blocks.