Centre to states: No fresh valuation of land having coal mines

NEW DELHI: Centre has asked the states that there would be no fresh fresh valuation of the land containing recently auctioned coal mines as "there is no scope" for it.

"It has been brought to the notice of this ministry... that in some coal bearing states, the land owned by the prior allottee and vested under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 in favour of the successful bidder or allottee is sought to be valued afresh for the purpose of transfer and mutation," the coal ministry said.

The Coal Ministry communicated the same through a letter dated October 13 to the Chief Secretaries of the states like Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.

The ministry said that in this regard, it is clarified that the entire land owned by the prior allottee, whether the same was previously owned by the government and transferred to the prior allottee or purchased by the prior allottee from private individuals or acquired by the government and transferred to the prior allottee, are all directly vested in favour of the successful allocatee as per the said Act.

"Whatever be the earlier character of the land i.e., Government land or private land or land acquired by the Government and transferred to the prior allottee, through the provisions of this Act, it acquires the nomenclature of land acquired/owned by the prior allottee... There is thus no scope for fresh valuation of the land," the ministry said.

The government had earlier this year auctioned 29 coal blocks in the two phases. The coal ministry had put on block barely three out of the proposed 10 mines during the third round in August.