India to auction 38 coal blocks
India says it has plans to auction 38 coal blocks with a reserve of 6086.67 million tons to the power, steel, iron and cement sectors in 2007.
“The coal reserves of 38 blocks to be allocated for captive mining through the screening committee route is estimated to be 6086.67 million tons,” India’s Junior Coal Minister Dasari Narayana Rao told Parliament Wednesday.
He said the government issued an advertisement last November inviting applications from eligible companies for allocation of coal blocks for captive mining by Jan. 12, 2007.
“A total of 1422 applications have been received. The allocation of coal blocks will depend on the time by which the views and comments of provincial governments and nodal ministries are obtained and the recommendations of the screening committee constituted for the purpose is received,” Rao said.
He refused to say when the blocks are to be allocated.
He said that in order to make the system more transparent and objective, a proposal to introduce a mechanism of competitive bidding for allocation of coal blocks is being considered.
He said state-run Coal India Ltd. had undertaken 97 mining projects for implementation during the 10th five-year plan.
Information from: www.upi.com
