Government to auction 54 coal blocks

NEW DELHI: The government has identified 54 coal blocks with total geological reserves of about 18.22 billion tonnes for auction to various companies, minister of state for coal Pratik Prakashbapu Patil said in a written reply to Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Of the 54 blocks, 16 with 7.27 billion tonne reserves have been reserved for government companies. Sixteen blocks with 8.16 billion tonne reserves have been earmarked for power sector companies to be selected through tariff based competitive bidding, Patil said.

Rest 22 blocks with 2.79 billion tonne reserves will be auctioned among other companies, he said.

The government has notified 'the Auction by Competitive Bidding of Coal Mines Rules, 2012' on February 2, 2012 in the Gazette of India, he said.