BackMSTC to conduct auctions for 132 blocks this month under sixth tranche
The sixth tranche of auctions will have a total of 141 blocks out of which 132 will be coal blocks and 9 lignite mines blocks
PremiumMetal Scrap Trade Corporation Limited (MSTC) will conduct auctions of 132 coal mines under the sixth tranche in states including Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and others. The sixth tranche of auctions will have a total of 141 blocks out of which 132 will be coal blocks and 9 lignite mines blocks, MSTC CMD Surinder Kumar Gupta told news agency PTI.
The top officer of the PSU added that the MSTC conducts all auctions of the coal mines according to the notifications of the Ministry of Coal and he suggested bidders read all bid-related notifications.
MSTC Limited is a Mini Ratna Category-I PSU under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel, Government of India. The government of India has a 64.75% shareholding in the company.
"MSTC is in no way involved in any policy-making process... As provided by the Coal Ministry...a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order dated 27.2.2020... has been uploaded to the auction portal. All the bidders are suggested to check all the notifications uploaded in our portal including the NGT order," Gupta said.
Initially, the sixth tranche had 133 mines, but the eight unsold mines of the fifth tranche is also added and the total number reached 141. Out of these 141 mines, 73 are explored while the remaining 68 are partially explored.
The mines to be auctioned under the sixth tranche are spread in the states like Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra.
Union Minister for Coal and Petroleum Pralhad Joshi informed in December that out of the total 99 coal mines that went for auctions under the fourth tranche, only 8 were auctioned successfully.
The Ministry of Coal is mulling over the idea of engaging Mining Developers cum Operators (MDOs) in coal mines, through open global tenders. The move is intended to boost the domestic production of coal and reduce import dependency.
"The state-owned coal miner is tracking a total of 15 greenfield projects for implementation through MDOs with an investment component to the tune of around Rs.20600 crores largely pertaining to land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement issues, and in some cases on railway sidings," the coal ministry said in a release on Tuesday.
(With inputs from agencies)
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