Govt begins 2nd phase of coal block auctions with at least 15 mines on offer

The government on Wednesday began the second round of coal block auctions by putting on offer four blocks - all in Jharkhand - with firms including Adani Power, JSW Steel, SAIL and BALCO in the race. The mines on offer are Jitpur, Moitra, Brinda and Sasai.

"Second phase of coal auction commences. Jitpur opened at (Rs) 120 (per tonne)... Moitra and Brinda & Sasai at Rs 1,004 (per tonne) Rs 1,802 (per tonne) respectively...," Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said.

The companies vying for Jitpur mine - earmarked for the power sector - are Adani Power, Adhunik Power and Natural Resources, Jaiprakash Power Ventures and Jindal Power. The coal block was earlier allocated to Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL).

For Moitra mine - earmarked for the non-power sector - the companies in the race are Jayaswal Neco Industries, JSW Steel and SAIL. It was earlier alloted to Jayaswal Neco.

With regard to Brinda and Sasai coal blocks (government came out with one bid for both the mines), the companies found to be technically qualified are BALCO, Easternrange Coal Mining, Sesa Sterlite and Usha Martin. The two blocks were earlier alloted to Abhijeet Infrastructure.

The last day for auction of the mines in this second tranche is March 9.

The government has put at least 15 coal blocks in this round of auction as per the tentative list. Over 80 applications have been found to be technically qualified for the ready-to-produce mines being put on auction.

Other mines on auction in the second lot include Mandakini in Odisha; Meral in Jharkhand; Tara in Chhattisgarh; Nerad Malegaon in Maharashtara; Dumri in Jharkhand; Ganeshpur in Jharkhand; Mandla South in Madhya Pradesh; Gare-Palma Sector- IV/8 in Chhattisgarh; Utkal C in Odisha; Lohari in Jharkhand and Jamkhani in Odisha.

The government, which was to begin the auction of the second lot of mines in February, had to put it off to March 4 because of litigation issues. For the 19 mines auctioned in the first lot, the government came out with the list of successful bidders for just 15 mines. The rest four mines are being re-examined by the Nominated Authority as there were some issues including pricing of the bids. The e-auction proceeds from the first lot of mines are over Rs 1 lakh crore.