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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | CBI probes offshore mining licence scam -Neeraj Chauhan

CBI probes offshore mining licence scam -Neeraj Chauhan

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published Published on Sep 25, 2012   modified Modified on Sep 25, 2012
-The Times of India

A new scam worth several thousands of crores has come to light. The Central Bureau of Investigation has started a probe into serious irregularities in awarding offshore mining blocks to private companies which did not fulfill the eligibility criteria.

The CBI has registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) against officials of the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), the ministry of mines as well as private companies which secured licences to explore minerals in the sea bed of Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea even when they were not eligible.

At the centre of the controversy is Ashok Aggarwal, a former deputy director of Enforcement Directorate, with CBI sources saying close to half of the mineral bearing offshore blocks were given to companies belonging to his kin.

This is not Aggarwal's first brush with the CBI. In 2003, the investigating agency had chargesheeted him for allegedly hatching a criminal conspiracy to implicate Delhi jeweller Subhash Barjatya in a now-repealed Foreign Exchange Regulation Act case.

The controversial officer has also been tried for possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

As for the latest case concerning him, a CBI source told TOI, "Indian Bureau of Mines officials did not follow the laid down norms and rules according to which only companies with expertise in exploring natural mines in the sea, having financial capability and technical knowhow could be given offshore blocks. Some of the companies which were given blocks had been registered just months or, in some cases, a few days before they filed the application."

He further said, "Some companies were registered just before applications. Others were incorporated after bids were invited, and did not have any experience in offshore mining at the time of notification. The manner in which these companies were preferred over others in the fray for the lucrative contracts needs to be investigated."

Significantly, companies belonging to Aggarwal's clan bagged 28 of the 62 blocks which were allocated, as part of a maiden effort to explore offshore mineral wealth, in March last year. Bombay High Court and Andhra Pradesh High Court have stopped the final award of licences in response to petitions seeking the scrapping of the entire process.

Sources said each block, measuring about 800 sq km, was estimated to have huge unexplored mineral wealth in the sea bed of Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. 26 of the offshore blocks which were awarded are in Bay of Bengal while 36 are in the Arabian Sea.

The companies which got offshore blocks in Bay of Bengal include Andhra Minerals (Nagpur), Anik Industries Ltd (Mumbai), IBC Limited (Chennai), Kanyakumari Minerals (Nagpur), PM GEO Exploration India Pvt Ltd (Bangalore), PMB Rare Minerals India Pvt Ltd (Bangalore), RVG Minerals and Metals Pvt Ltd (New Delhi) and Standard Metalloys Pvt Ltd (New Delhi).

The companies which got blocks in Arabian Sea include Apex Metalloys Pvt Ltd (New Delhi), Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (Alwaye, Kerala), Indian Garnet Sand Co (P) Ltd (Chennai), Rare (H) Minerals Pvt Ltd (Tiruchirapalli), RVG Metals and Alloys Pvt Ltd (New Delhi), UA Minerals Pvt Ltd (New Delhi), Vetrivel Minerals (Tamil Nadu) and VIA Earth Resources Pvt Ltd (Mumbai).

Out of these, CBI sources said five companies—RVG Minerals, Standard, Apex, RVG Metals and UA Minerals—belonged to Aggarwal's brother and son.

The Times of India, 25 September, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/CBI-probes-offshore-mining-licence-scam/articleshow/16535034.cms


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