10th tranche of commercial coal mine auctions launched

The Coal Ministry has launched the 10th tranche of commercial coal mine auctions offering 67 mines spread across Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal and Telangana. The mines include both fully explored and partially explored and 3 coking coal mines.

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Coal and Mines, launched the 10th tranche of commercial coal mine auctions at Hyderabad.

The commencement of sale of tender document shall started from today. The auction shall be held online through a transparent two stage process, based on percentage revenue share.

According to the Minister, for 10th tranche also, mines falling under protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, critical habitats, having forest cover greater than 40 per cent heavily built-up area, etc. have been excluded. The block boundaries of some of the coal mines where there was presence of dense habitation, high green cover or critical infrastructure, etc. have been revised to improve the attractiveness of the coal mines.

Announcing the auctions at an event here on Friday, the Minister emphasised the critical role of coal as the lifeline for all industries and its pivotal contribution in achieving a $5-trillioneconomy. He reiterated the importance of enhancing domestic coal production for India’s economic growth. It is crucial to work towards advancing in coal sector and our efforts today will make the future brighter. It was also informed that the revenue generated from the auctioned coal blocks goes to the respective State government.

Safety measures

Amrit Lal Meena, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, emphasised the importance of enhancing coal production to meet the rising energy demands. He underscored that the increase in production must not compromise the safety of workers, stressing the adoption of global best practices to ensure secure working environment.

Maintaining high standards of transparency was also a focal point, with an emphasis on adhering to stringent environment sustainability measures to mitigate the impact of coal mining on the ecosystem. He called for robust State-level support to streamline the ease of doing business within the coal sector.

The Additional Secretary and Nominated Authority, Ministry of Coal, M Nagaraju highlighted the need to explore more coal block as there is surging demand for the fuel. He stressed that leveraging private investment and expertise is crucial for meeting the growing energy needs and ensuring steady coal supply to various industries. By opening more coal blocks for exploration and encouraging private participation will contribute the coal sector in achieving higher production targets.