Government received complaints of cartelisation in coal auction: Piyush Goyal

NEW DELHI: The government has received a few complaints of cartelisation in coal blocks bidding, but it is not possible to conclusively establish any collusion among companies until investigation are carried out by a competent authority, Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

The government has rejected successful bids in the case of four coal mines -- Gare Palma IV/2&3, Gare Palma IV/1 and Tara -- as final closing bid prices were not found to be reflecting fair value, the minister said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Jindal Power, a unit of Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, submitted the top bids for Gare Palma IV/2&3 and Tara coal blocks, while Bharat Aluminum Company bid the highest amount for Gare Palma IV/1.

The companies have approached the Delhi High Court against the coal ministry’s decision. The next hearing on the matter is on May 7.

Goyal said so far 29 coal mines have been auctioned to private steel, power and cement firms fetching Rs 1,93,512 crore revenue, including auction proceeds and royalty, to state governments over the life of the mines.

In addition, an estimated Rs 1,41,854 crore would accrue to coal-bearing states from allotment of 38 coal mines to central and state PSU’s, Goyal said.

He said of these 29 mines, 16 are operational and 13 are non-operational.