The CBI will write to governments of coal producing states seeking to know the basis of their recommendations with regard to private companies who were allocated coal blocks between 2006 and 2009.
The agency in its prima facie investigation has found some material which shows that several ineligible companies had allegedly got the coal blocks during the period, CBI sources said.
The CBI is now trying to ascertain whether these companies were recommended by the state governments as per the norms and parameters or there was a violation, they said.
The agency will be writing to Chief Secretaries of all coal producing states which are the members of Screening Committee which short-lists the companies for allocating coal blocks in the country, the sources said.
The staff-starved CBI is undertaking the humongous task of scanning over 70 trunks of documents related to coal block allocation which are lying with coal ministry before filing any FIR in connection with the case.
The sources said the investigations in coal blocks issue is a complex affair because of the large amount of documentation related to these blocks which are spread across a number of states.
They said 1,422 application for 64 coal blocks were received by the coal ministry between 2006 and 2009 from 146 private companies and all these documents have to be scrutinised.
They said the agency will also examine the members of screening committee to understand any alleged irregularities in the allocation.
The CBI had initiated a preliminary enquiry in connection with the alleged irregularities in the utilisation and allocation of coal blocks allocated to private companies between 2006 and 2009.