Nagaraju assures industry of government support
The Coal Ministry is offering 67 mines with a total resource of almost 36 billion tons and explored mines PRCs of about 150 million tonnes (mt) in the second tranche auctions of coal mines for commercial mining, making it the biggest ever offer exploiting coal.
Addressing the ‘1st Stakeholders’ Consultation on 2nd Tranche of Auction of Coal Mines for Commercial Mining,’ organized by Ministry of Coal, jointly with FICCI, Mr Nagaraju said, “The offers, which are in almost all coal-bearing states, give great opportunity and chance to the industry to pick the relevant and useful mines depending on their requirements,” The Ministry’s Additional Secretary & Nominated Authority M Nagaraju announced on 10 June 2021.
Assuring the industry of all support, Nagaraju said, “From this ongoing tranche of auction, Ministry of Coal is moving to a rolling auction mechanism wherein any un-auctioned mine shall remain available for auction on the portal, with more mines being added as and when available.”
The announcement was made at the Ministry at the “1st Stakeholders’ Consultation on the 2nd Tranche of Auction of Coal Mines for Commercial Mining”. It was jointly held with FICCI as the Industry Partner.
There are 67 coal blocks in this tranche, 23 of which are CMSP and 44 are MMDR blocks; 37 are fully explored, while the remaining 30 are partially and regionally explored, Manoj Kumar, CMD, CMPDIL & WCL, elaborated.
The second tranche auctions of commercial coal mines are an important step towards the commitment of increasing the availability of coal across the different segments of the industries and reducing the burden on coal imports, added FICCI Secretary General Dilip Chenoy.
Initiatives for ensuring environment-friendly & sustainable mining, adoption of cutting-edge technologies, including coal gasification and CBM projects will help in ensuring sustainable growth in this endeavour, he hoped.
After the commercial coal mining auction process was initiated last year on 18 June 2020 through a high-level launch event jointly organized by Ministry of Coal with FICCI, the 2nd tranche auction is expected to bring in global best practices which will lead to development of a vibrant coal market, boosting economic growth and employment generation in the country.
The second tranche auction process was formally launched by Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant 25 March 2021, follow up with the pre-bid meeting held on 26 April 2021. The Ministry is organising a series of two stakeholder consultations under the aegis of FICCI for wider outreach to potential bidders.
The auction will be held online through a transparent 2 stage process. Key highlights of this auction process are – market linked mechanism wherein bidding shall be based on Percentage Revenue Share, National Coal Index linked payments, ease in participation with no restriction for prior coal mining experience, optimized payment structures, efficiency promotion through incentives for early production and use of clean technology, flexible operating terms etc.
Bid due date is 24 June 2021, said the Ministry. #investment #energy #coal #development /fiinews.com
