Centre has rubbished Team Anna's charges of irregularities in allocation of coal blocks when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held the portfolio.

The Coal Ministry on Wednesday made point by point rejection of the allegations and said the process of allocation was absolutely fair and just.

The seven point statement issued by the ministry said that the allocation of coal blocks to private companies for captive use commenced in the year 1993 after the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 was amended, and that was done with the objective of attracting private investments in specified end uses.

As the economy grew in size, the demand for coal also grew, particularly due to expansion in the energy sector, and it was felt that Coal India Ltd alone would not be able to meet the growing demand and, therefore, the option of giving a bigger role to the private sector was explored.

While allocation of coal blocks began in 1993, it was only in 2004 that for the first time, the idea of making allocations through competitive bidding was mooted and in 2005 the government initiated a proposal to amend the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act.

The delay of three years between initiating the process of legislative changes and introducing the Amendment Bill in the Parliament was mainly due to time taken in consensus building among divergent views of the various stakeholders.

The statement said, besides the opposition of some states, Ministry of Power too felt that auctioning of coal might lead to enhanced cost of coal.

Legal issues of whether amendment was required in the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act or Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act were to be carefully examined.

It was only through multilayered consultations and discussions that these issues were finally resolved and the amendment Bill could be introduced in the Rajya Sahba in 2008.

Moreover as there was increase in applicants for coal blocks, the Government evolved a consolidated set of guidelines to ensure consistency in allocation, and in September 2005 the system was further improved bringing in greater transparency.

Meanwhile, Team Anna member Mr Arvind Kejriwal said they stood by their stand and would be very happy if the charges against the Prime Minister were proved wrong.

The Prime Minister, while returning from his visit to Myanmar last night, had offered to quit if allegations of Team Anna against him regarding allocation of coal blocks to private companies were proved right.