By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Wednesday said Sixty seven coal mines have been offered in the current tranche of auction for sale of coal. Out of these 67 coal mines, 14 coal mines are located in Odisha.
These mines were Machhakata, Mahanadi ,NuagaonTelisahi, Ramchandi Promotion Block, Alaknanda, Bartap, Burapahar, Dip Extn of Belpahar, Dip Side of Chatabar, Kardabahal-Brahmanbil, Kosala West, Phuljhari East & West, Saradhapur North and Tentuloi.
No auction revenue will accrue to the Union Government. Revenue to the State Governments concerned from 67 coal mines offered in the current tranche of auction for sale of coal can not be estimated during the auction process as out of these 67 coal mines, 30 coal mines are partially explored and the number of mines, which will get auctioned can not be known.
Coal mines are auctioned under the provisions of Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 and Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.Methodology for auction of coal and lignite mines/blocks for sale of coal/lignite on revenue sharing basis was issued on 28.05.2020. Salient features of the Methodology are as under:
Based on Revenue sharing mechanism. Floor percentage at 4%.Applicable to fully explored as well as partially explored coal blocks.Upfront amount is based on value of estimated geological reserves.Successful Bidder to pay monthly revenue share based on percentage of revenue share quoted, total quantity of coal and notional or actual price whichever is higher.
Incentives for early production, gasification and liquefaction of coal.Exploitation of Coal Bed Methane is allowed.No restriction on the sale and/ or utilisation of coal. More flexibility in coal production schedule.
Methodology for auction of coal and lignite mines/blocks for sale of coal/lignite on revenue sharing basis was issued on 28.05.2020. Twenty coal mines have been successfully auctioned for sale of coal. Further, 67 coal mines have been offered in the current, ongoing tranche of auction for sale of coal.
Auction of coal mines for sale of coal would create a market place for coal with multiple producers to drive competition and adopt best practices in mining as well as environment management. Auction of coal mines for sale of coal in a transparent manner is expected to encourage transparent pricing of coal, based on market forces. It would make maximum coal available in the market at the earliest, Joshi added.
In 2020-21, all India coal production was 716.084 Million Tonnes (MT)(provisional). There was a huge coal stock at Coal India Limited (CIL) and Thermal Power Plants end.The following action has also been taken by Government to further enhance the production of the coal in the country:
i. Launch of Commercial Auction: Auction of commercial mining on revenue sharing mechanism from 5 coal bearing states (Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Chhattisgarh) was launched on 18.06.2020. During this round of auction, 20 coal mines with aggregate peak capacity of 59 MTPA were successfully auctioned. Second Tranche of auction for commercial mining was launched by Ministry of Coal on 25.03.2021. In the second Tranche, a total of 67coal mines/blocks were offered. Further to cater to the demand of the coking coal consumers, 6 coking coal mines have been put on offer. The cumulative PRC for the fully explored mines on offer has been estimated at 150 MTPA.
ii. Concept of Rolling Auction: In order to expedite the process for conducting auction and to carry out more rounds of auction in a year, a mechanism of rolling auctions of coal mines has been planned. Under this mechanism, upon completion of the electronic auction process of a tranche (i.e. approximately 3-4 months from the launch of auction process), the next tranche of auction would be launched for following mines:
a. Mines where no bid or only single bid was received in the previous tranche of auction (except for those mines where Ministry of Coal decides to go for second attempt of auction)
b. New mines, if any, identified by Ministry of Coal
iii. Engagement of PMU: Project Management Unit (PMU) has been engaged by Ministry of Coal for handholding of coal block allottees for obtaining various approvals /clearances for early operationalisation of coal mines allocated under CMSP Act, 2015.
iv. Launch of Single Window Clearance: The Union government has launched Single Window Clearance portal for the coal sector to speed up the operationalisation of coal mines. It is an unified platform that facilitates grant of clearances and approvals required for starting a coal mine in India.
v. The MMDR Act has been amended in March, 2021 which, inter alia, allows all captive mines to sell up to 50% of the minerals produced during the year after meeting the requirement of attached plant.
vi. Coal India Ltd. has envisaged a coal production programme of one Billion Tonne from CIL mines by the year 2023-24. CIL has taken the following steps to achieve the target of augmentation of coal production capacity:
Implementing on-going projects in time bound manner to achieve targeted production as per schedule.Introduction of Surface Miners in Open Cast (OC) mines to improve operational efficiency and cater to environmental needs.Introduction of Mass Production Technology in underground coal mines.15 Projects identified with a Capacity of about 160 MTPA (Million Tonnes per Annum) to be operated by Mine Developer cum Operator mode.Capacity addition through special dispensation in Environment Clearance under clause 7(ii) of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 2006.CIL has taken steps to upgrade the mechanized coal transportation and loading system under ‘First Mile Connectivity’ projects.
