The Coal Ministry on Tuesday said that it has received 35 offline bids for 18 coal blocks under the 7th round of commercial coal mines auction. The bids will be opened on Wednesday.
The seventh round of commercial coal mine auctions was launched by the Ministry on March 29 this year for 106 coal mines. The last date for submission of bids was Tuesday, it said.
“A total of 35 offline bids have been received for 18 coal mines, where two or more bids have been received for seven mines. The online bids received as part of the auction process will be opened on Wednesday,” it added.
Of the total mines offered in the current round, 32 are new mines while 69 blocks are being rolled over from earlier tranches.
Additionally, five coal mines under the second attempt of 16th/ 6th Tranche under CMSP/ MMDR Act are also being launched where single bids were received in the first attempt.
The blocks are spread across Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Bihar
As per the Ministry action plan for FY24, it expects 25 coal blocks to be auctioned under the commercial mine auctions in the fiscal year.
Pacts for 29 mines
The Ministry has also signed agreements for 29 coal mines which were auctioned under the 6th round of commercial coal mines auction.
The cumulative peak rate capacity of 29 coal mines is 74 mtpa. These mines upon operationalisation will generate annual revenue of ₹14,497 crore calculated at PRC of these coal mines and will provide employment to about one lakh people.