The Coal Ministry will auction or allot 18 more coal blocks in addition to already announced 74 mines for sale in the first lot, to meet the growing domestic demand for the fuel. Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said the blocks have an additional capacity of about 120 million tonnes (MT). “The mining plan of the 18 blocks has already been approved. They have the potential to produce 100 million tonnes (mt) a year. But the environment clearance is not there yet,” said a senior Coal Ministry official. “While there is little time to provide the environment clearance before the auction/allocation takes place, we will facilitate the new owners after the process is over,” the official added. The first phase of the auction will begin on February 11, 2015, and be completed by March 15, 2015.
In the first round, 92 blocks will be auctioned or allocated, of these, 59 have been set aside for the power sector. Of these 59, on auction will be 25, and the rest will be allocated to Central and State public sector companies. Combined, the 92 blocks being offered in the first round will have a production capacity of around 310 mt a year. The sale of the first 92 coal blocks will start on February 11, to specified end-users. The government has made it clear that the number of mines sold to them will be capped to avoid monopoly. The e-auction will have a two-stage tender process of technical and financial bids. The official added the mechanism to ensure power tariffs don’t increase despite the auctions has been decided, but declined to elaborate further. Meanwhile, the Coal Ministry is also setting up an e-platform, similar to the one created by the Project Monitoring Group, for coal industry stakeholders.“We will see the issues on the portal and follow it up with the Ministry of Environment and Forests and go to the State Governments when required,” the official said.
Action plan
On Coal India’s plan to achieve a target of one billion tonnes of coal production, the official said an action plan has been prepared where new rail linkages have been identified for each individual mine. “Coal India has already completed work on the action plan to achieve 925 mt and the rest should be done soon,” said the official. For the current year, Coal India is on track to meet its production target of 507 mt and the company has seen a 16 per cent improvement in November production.
In the first round, 92 blocks will be auctioned or allocated, of these, 59 have been set aside for the power sector. Of these 59, on auction will be 25, and the rest will be allocated to Central and State public sector companies. Combined, the 92 blocks being offered in the first round will have a production capacity of around 310 mt a year. The sale of the first 92 coal blocks will start on February 11, to specified end-users. The government has made it clear that the number of mines sold to them will be capped to avoid monopoly. The e-auction will have a two-stage tender process of technical and financial bids. The official added the mechanism to ensure power tariffs don’t increase despite the auctions has been decided, but declined to elaborate further. Meanwhile, the Coal Ministry is also setting up an e-platform, similar to the one created by the Project Monitoring Group, for coal industry stakeholders.“We will see the issues on the portal and follow it up with the Ministry of Environment and Forests and go to the State Governments when required,” the official said.
Action plan
On Coal India’s plan to achieve a target of one billion tonnes of coal production, the official said an action plan has been prepared where new rail linkages have been identified for each individual mine. “Coal India has already completed work on the action plan to achieve 925 mt and the rest should be done soon,” said the official. For the current year, Coal India is on track to meet its production target of 507 mt and the company has seen a 16 per cent improvement in November production.
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