Coal Ministry Puts 122 Coal & Lignite Mines In 11 States Including Odisha Under Commercial Auction

Bhubaneswar: The Ministry of Coal on Wednesday placed 122 coal/lignite mines in 11 states including Odisha for commercial auction.

Addressing the 5th tranche of auction launch, Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi said 42 coal mines have already been auctioned successfully  so far. The mines that have been put under auction  in this trance include 18 new coal mines, he added.

Of 109 mines on offer, 59 are fully explored and 50 are partially explored ones. Those are spread across coal/lignite bearing states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Telangana.

The list of mines has been finalised after detailed deliberations. The mines under protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, critical habitats, having more than 40% forest cover and heavily built-up area have been excluded.

The sale of tender document will begin from Wednesday. Details of the mines, auction terms and timeline can be accessed on MSTC auction platform. The auction will be held online through a transparent two stage process, on the basis of percentage revenue share.

The minister said the auction of new mines will ensure energy security of the nation and provide employment opportunity to more than 1.17 lakh people.