The duration clause reads : ‘This insurance
attaches as the subject-matter insured is loaded on board the oversea vessel at
the port or place named herein for the commencement of the transit, continues
during the ordinary course of transit and terminates as the subject-matter
insured is discharged overside from the oversea vessel at the destination named
herein’ …………. It is that of Institute Coal Clause.
Chennai Port has been
handling tonnes of coal …. In 1961, Jawahar
Dock was inaugurated by the then prime minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri.
In 1964, the Jawahar dock with capacity to berth 6 vessels to handle dry bulk cargoes
such as coal, iron ore, fertiliser and non-hazardous liquid cargoes was created
on the southern side changing the topography of the port. There was some plan to convert Jawahar Dock
(E) berth to a container terminal and in the beginning of the year, the Madras
High Court granted an interim stay. There have
been moves to shift handling of dusty cargo to Ennore.
Coal which means "mineral of fossilized carbon" is
a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in
rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. Coal is composed
primarily of carbon along with variable quantities of other elements, chiefly
hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Throughout history, coal has been used
as an energy resource, primarily burned for the production of electricity
and/or heat, and is also used for industrial purposes, such as refining metals.
Coal is the largest source of energy for
the generation of electricity worldwide.
Coal is king and paramount Lord of industry is an old saying in the
industrial world. Industrial greatness has been built up on coal by many
countries. In India, coal is the most important indigenous energy resource and
remains the dominant fuel for power generation and many industrial
applications.
~ it is dark and can
leave black stains too……… the Supreme Court on Monday declared
as "illegal and arbitrary" 218 coal block allocations between 1993
and 2009, ruling that the Central government of the day adopted a process which
lacked transparency in the absence of competitive bidding. United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments
bore the brunt of the apex court's order as 155 of the blocks nullified were
allotted during their tenure, including 134 allocations made when former prime
minister Manmohan Singh handled the coal ministry. The remaining 63 allocations were made by the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) during its rule from 1999 to 2004.
The Supreme Court on Monday
said it was evident that the allocation of blocks by the Centre was driven by
the intention to "grant largesse". The bench rejected the Govt's contention that
it was only a first statutory "innocuous" step. "The allocation
of coal block by the central government results in the selection of
beneficiary, which entitles the beneficiary to get the prospecting licence or
mining lease from the state government. Obviously, allocation of a coal block
amounts to grant of largesse," said the bench headed by Chief Justice of
India R.M. Lodha. The bench rejected former Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati's
contention that "allocation itself did not confer any right on the
allottees to mine the block, that it was just a letter of intent and a lot of
procedures are to be followed thereafter, like securing environmental clearances,
which are the responsibility of the state". "It is true that allocation letter by
itself does not authorise the allottee to win or mine the coal, but
nevertheless the allocation letter does confer a very important right upon the
allottee to apply for grant of prospecting licence or mining lease," said
the bench.
How do you view that …. Sad over
the occurrences or feeling happy of the judicial activism that has at last
overturned the nefarious decisions of the Govt.
Coal allocation scam or Coalgate, is a political scandal concerning the
Indian government's allocation of the nation's coal deposits to public sector
entities (PSEs) and private companies by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In a draft report issued in March 2012, the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) office accused the Government of
India of allocating coal blocks in an inefficient manner during the period
2004–2009. Over the Summer of 2012, the opposition BJP lodged a complaint
resulting in a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into whether the
allocation of the coal blocks was in fact influenced by corruption. The essence
of the CAG's argument is that the Government had the authority to allocate coal
blocks by a process of competitive bidding, but chose not to. The CBI has named a dozen Indian firms in a First
Information Report (FIR), the first step in a criminal investigation. These
FIRs accuse them of overstating their net worth, failing to disclose prior coal
allocations, and hoarding rather than developing coal allocations.
The issue has received
massive media reaction and public outrage. During the monsoon session of the
Parliament, the BJP protested the Government's handling of the issue demanding the
resignation of the prime minister and refused to have a debate in the
Parliament. The deadlock resulted in Parliament functioning only seven of the
twenty days of the session. The Parliamentary Standing Committee report on Coal
and Steel states that all coal blocks distributed between 1993 and 2008 were
done in an unauthorized manner and allotment of all mines where production is
yet to start should be cancelled.
The Supreme Court's 'Coalgate' verdict needs to be welcomed as it gives
India a rare second chance to fix terrible decisions made by our politicians. The coal allocations scandal is not an outrage
merely because undeserving companies got coal blocks. It is an outrage because
it concentrated the ownership of India's coal reserves among a handful of
businesses. Thank Apex Court for digging deeper in to the black mines…
With regards –
S. Sampathkumar
26th
Aug 2014.
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