The Indian government has announced that it will auction eight coal blocks with 1143 million t of reserves to steel and cement firms.
Bidding for the blocks will start on 20 November and the last date for submission of bids will be 31 December. The auction will be held on 18 – 22 January next year.
According to Coal Secretary Anil Swarup, the government will allot coal supply from Coal IndiaBSE to states that call tariff bids. He also announced that the government has identified coal blocks for states that agree to be a part of Ujjawal Discom Assurance Yojna.
The coal blocks to be put under the hammer include Brahmapuri and Suliyari in Madhya Pradesh, Bundu and Gondulpura in Jharkhand, Gondkhari and Khappa and Extn in Maharashtra and Jaganathpur A and Jaganathpur B in West Bengal.
These mines together have reserves totalling 1143.42 million t and their peak rated capacity stands at 12.86 million t.
Edited from sources by Joseph Green. Sources: Economic Times, The Hindu, Times of India