Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has said that the government has
not allocated any coal block since 2009, rejecting allegations that some were awarded during his tenure
without proper screening.
"No coal block has been allocated during UPA-II regime," Jaiswal told reporters in New Delhi.
The minister said some allocation letters might have been issued after 2009 when the second term of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA-II) government began.
In a letter to
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Hansraj Ahir has accused Jaiswal of allocating coal blocks to 35 private companies without mandatory sanction by the screening committee.
"Allocation letter might be given in 2011 but coal blocks were allocated in 2008," said Jaiswal, who has been coal minister since 2009.