Ex-coal secy Parakh insists he did no wrong

Former coal secretary PC Parakh on Saturday denied having anything to do with the allocation of coal mines to private firms Navabharat Power and Visa Power -- both currently under investigation by the CBI -- that he joined after retirement.

Former coal secretary PC Parakh on Saturday denied having anything to do with the allocation of coal mines to private firms Navabharat Power and Visa Power -- both currently under investigation by the CBI -- that he joined after retirement.

Parakh, who retired as coal secretary in December 2005, joined the boards of these two companies between 2007 and 2008. The firms were later allocated coal blocks. According to an Indian Express report on Saturday quoting CBI sources, investigators suspect the firms got the blocks with Parakh’s help and that they plan to call him for questioning.

Insisting he had “nothing to do” with the allocations, Parakh told HT, “These are nonsense allegations as I was on the board of these companies for only a few months… I stepped down as I was not comfortable with the working styles of the other directors on the board.”

Earlier this week, the CBI named Parakh in its 14th Coalgate FIR, accusing him of conspiring over the allocation of two coal blocks in Odisha by way of “undue favours” to industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla’s firm Hindalco.