Coal Ministry to put 18 additional blocks for sale in 1st phase: Secretary

NEW DELHI: The coal ministry might put 18 more blocks on offer, in addition to the 74 already planned, in the upcoming auction of the mines, according to a government official.

The government plans to conclude the first phase of allocation of coal blocks through allotment and auction by March 16, 2015. Of the total 92 blocks, some will be allotted to state-run companies while others will be auctioned electronically.

The government had announced last month the draft rules for the auctions and sought stakeholders’ comments till November 24.

The ministry is finalising the rules and the bid document for the blocks is likely to be ready by December 22, according to the official, who did not wish to be named.

With the upcoming first phase, India will witness its first ever auction of coal resources.

Separately, in response to a question in the Lok Sabha, power and coal minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said to optimise transport cost, the ministry had formed another interministerial task force in June to carry out a comprehensive review of existing sources of the fuel and consider the feasibility for their rationalisation.