Coal block competitive bidding soon: Sriprakash Jaiswal

The proposed competitivebidding round for coal blocks in the country will be held soon, Coal MinisterSriprakash Jaiswal said on Monday night.

"The bidding will be called soon," Jaiswal said when asked about thestatus of the government's plan for allocation of coal blocks throughcompetitive bidding.

He was in the city to join in the celebrations for Coal India Ltd's newMaharatna status.

Though the exact number of coal blocks that will be put on auction is notknown, it is believed that government is ready with 50-75 blocks.

The launch of the competitive bidding round was delayed earlier due to thecontroversy over classification of certain coal blocks as 'Go' and 'No-Go'areas by the Environment Ministry.

However, the issue could be resolved at the proposed review meeting convened byPrime Minister Manmohan Singh on coal production, which is slated for June 7.

The proposal for auctioning coal blocks through competitive bidding was mootedfor the first time over two years ago. Parliament had also approved amendingthe MMDR Act to facilitate this process.

Meanwhile, asked about the status of 14 coal blocks that were taken back frommining companies over their failure to stick to development timelines, Jaiswalsaid he will try to allocate these blocks to CIL and some preference could begiven to state governments.

He did not rule out reconsidering the decision for genuine cases, though heasserted that the de-allocation by the government was only done after astringent review.