The state government has decided to move court against the decision of the Coal Ministry to cancel the coal block allotted to Himachal EMTA Power Limited (HEPL), a joint venture of the state-owned Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) and Eastern Minerals and Trading Agency (EMTA), for setting up pit-head thermal power plant at Raniganj in West Bengal.
Additional Chief Secretary (Power) Deepak Sanan said the company would file a petition against the order before November 30.
The coal block has been de-allocated on the grounds that progress on the project is unsatisfactory, but the state has valid reasons as out of the reserves allotted in the A, B and C blocks, almost 50 per cent of the area (falling under the B block) is densely populated where mining is not possible.
