By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR: As part of the (12th tranche of auction under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions Act-2015) and 2nd tranche of auction under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulations) Act of 1957, as many as 13 Coal Blocks belongs to Odisha , on Thursday put for commercial bidding.
A total of 67 Coal blocks both fully and partially explored including 13 in Odisha were put for auction. All these blocks belongs to Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Bidders may note that all the presentations provided are for ease of understanding of the auction process by the Bidders. In case of any discrepancies between the presentation and the Tender Document (including mine dossier) & Agreement, the provisions of the Tender Document (including mine dossier) & the Agreement will prevail, the notification of Union Coal Ministry said.
Odisha Blocks included Machhakata and Mahanadi Odisha under CM(SP) Act, 2015 having status fully explored followed by Nuagaon Telisahi Odisha under CM(SP) Act, 2015 having status of fully explored. Similarly, Ramchandi Promotion Block Odisha under CM(SP) Act, 2015, which is partially explored , Alaknanda Odisha under MMDR Act, 1957 , also partially explored, Bartap Odisha MMDR Act, 1957 Partially Explored, Burapahar Odisha MMDR Act, 1957 Fully Explored, Dip Extn of Belpahar Odisha MMDR Act, 1957 Partially Explored, Dip Side of Chatabar Odisha MMDR Act, 1957 Partially Explored, Kardabahal-Brahmanbil Odisha MMDR Act, 1957 Fully Explored, Kosala West Odisha MMDR Act, 1957 Fully Explored, Phuljhari East & West Odisha MMDR Act, 1957 Fully Explored, Saradhapur North Odisha MMDR Act, 1957 Fully Explored and Tentuloi Odisha MMDR Act, 1957 Fully Explored were put for auction.
Earlier, amid presence of Industry Captains like Naveen Jindal of Jindal Steel and Power Limited and several others, Union Coal ,Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Pralhad Joshi on Thursday launched 12th tranche of CM(SP) auction and the 2nd tranche of MMDR auction of commercial coal blocks.
“Launched the next tranche of auction for commercial mining of coal. Was joined by CEO of@NITIAayog, Shri @amitabhk87 ji, officials of the @CoalMinistry and industry representatives. This latest one is the 12th tranche of CM(SP) auction and the 2nd tranche of MMDR auction,” Union Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi tweeted @JoshiPralhad.
“We are making coal the driver of economic activities in the country. There are huge opportunities that the Indian coal sector is offering. Therefore, I invite investors to come and be a part of vastly untapped coal reserves in the country. Grow your businesses and take India along on the growth course,” Joshi said while launching the auction process.“Commercial coal mining will bring in new investments, create huge employment opportunities and boost socio-economic development in coal-bearing states. A market-based coal economy will help the nation become Aatmanirbhar in coal.” Joshi added.
The Coal Minister also said looking at the past success, the government is moving towards adopting a ‘Rolling Auction’ mechanism for conducting future auctions. Coal is the first mineral resource where Rolling Auction mechanism is being implemented in which a pool of coal blocks will always remain available for auctions.
“With rolling auctions, we will upload a comprehensive list of mines along with key technical data and bidders can submit their preferences for the mines to be included in the next tranche of auction. This would be a continuous process and would result in expediting the auction setup. Moreover, it will also help bidders in planning better and would further enhance transparency in the system.” said Joshi.
Joshi also said that along with promoting commercial coal mining, the government is also looking at reforming the existing e-auction mechanism of Coal India Limited and considering clubbing different e-auction windows of CIL into one. This will help in moving towardsOne Price for One Coal Grade.Selling coal at market-determined prices through one e-auction window would help in simplifying the system and promoting transparency.
“Start of commercial coal mining is the most revolutionary and progressive measure taken in the coal sector of the country. It will bring the leading miners with latest technologies and cost competitiveness in the Indian coal sector. Indian coal sector will witness huge improvements in productivity and modernisation.” CEO NITI Aayog Shri Amitabh Kant said in his address.
“In this tranche of auction, special emphasis has been given on protection of the environment. Coal blocks have been selected in those areas where forest cover is low, coal quality is good, mines are close to the infrastructure facilities and resettlement & rehabilitation has to be done at the minimum. More coking coal mines have been offered so that India’s import of coking coal can also be reduced,” Secretary (Coal) Anil Kumar Jain said while speaking in the function.
Notably, 19 mines were successfully auctioned in thefirst-ever tranche of commercial coal mining auctions held last year with the premium quoted by the successful bidders ranging from 9.5% to 66.75%. The agreements between the Ministry of Coal and the successful bidders were signed in January this year. States will fetch around Rs. 7000 crores of revenues from these auctions considering production at peak rated capacity of 51 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA).
Of the total 35 coal mines successfully auctioned in the last 10 tranches of auction, only 14 blocks could begin operations, sources said. The recent auction of coal mines for commercial mining witnessed “fierce competition” and the 19 blocks that went under the hammer can generate total revenues of around ₹7,000 crore per annum and create more than 69,000 jobs once they are operationalized.Out of 38 mines put on auction, 19 mines were successfully auctioned.42 companies participated in the auction, out of which 40 were private players.In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the auction process for 41 coal blocks for commercial mining. Some of the corporate biggies that have bagged blocks include Adani Enterprises, Vedanta, Hindalco Industries and Jindal Power.
