RTCC: The supreme court of India yesterday cancelled the licenses of 214 coal blocks, which it said the government had allocated illegally.
The move grants a temporary reprieve to areas of the Mahan forest that were set to be felled to make way for an open cast coal mine. British-registered companies Essar and Hindalco had been granted permission to clear the area.
It could also make domestic coal production more expensive in India, a country which is struggling to address energy shortages.
But...