By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Monday said that the The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020 was enacted to amend the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 [CMSP Act] and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 [MMDR Act].
The amendments in CMSP Act and MMDR Act enable allocation of coal blocks for composite prospecting license-cum-mining lease. The methodology for auction of coal and lignite mines / blocks for sale of coal / lignite on revenue sharing basis was issued on 28.05.2020 and modified vide order dated 24.11.2021.
The methodology shall be applicable on auction of all fully explored coal blocks/mines (categorised in G-1 exploration stage as per the modified Indian Standard Procedure for Coal Resource estimation, 2017) and partially explored coal blocks/mines (categorised in G-2 or G-3 exploration stage) for sale of coal under the CMSP Act and MMDR Act.
So far, 6 partially explored coal blocks have been successfully auctioned. No such grant was given to the Coal Ministry. However, Coal companies under the Ministry of Coal have taken up infrastructure development for more efficient evacuation of coal.
Further, under the sub-scheme “Development of Transportation Infrastructure in Coalfield (DTIC)” under the Central Sector Scheme of “Conservation, Safety and Infrastructural Development in coal/lignite mine.
Joshi said, India’s appetite for Coal is expected to rise and add to the overall demand between 2021 and 2024.The following measures have been taken by the Government to meet the coal requirement in the country:
Commercial Auction of coal on revenue share mechanism: Auction of commercial mining on Revenue Sharing Mechanism was launched on 18.06.2020. Under this scheme, total of 2 tranches have been successfully completed. From these two tranches total of 28 coal mines have been successfully auctioned for which Vesting order have been signed for 27 coal mines.
Allowed sale of excess coal production: The Ministry of Coal has amended Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 with a view to allowing sale of coal or lignite, on payment of additional amount, by the lessee of a captive mine up to 50 percent of the total coal or lignite produced in a financial year, after meeting the requirement of the end use plant linked with the mine. Earlier this year, the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act had been amended to this effect. This is applicable for both the private and public sector captive mines. With this amendment, the Government has paved the way for releasing of additional coal in the market by greater utilization of mining capacities of captive coal and lignite blocks, which were being only partly utilized owing to limited production of coal for meeting only their captive needs.
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, the next tranche of auction would be launched for following mines: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). New mines, if any, identified by Ministry of Coal.In the current III tranche of commercial auction, total of 48 coal mines have been rolled over from the II tranche of mines.
Single Window Clearance: The Union government has launched Single Window Clearance portal on 11.01.2021 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. Now, the complete process shall be facilitated through Single Window Clearance Portal, which will map not only the relevant application formats, but also process flow for grant of approvals or clearances.
Coal India Limited (CIL) has envisaged a coal production programme of one Billion Tonne from CIL mines. CIL has taken the following steps to achieve the target of augmentation of coal production capacity.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.
