So far, 82 coal mines have been allocated by way of auction / allotment under the provisions of the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 and the Rules made thereunder. Of these 82 coal mines, 31 have been allocated through e-auction and 51 by way of allotment. This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy and Mines in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
The Minister further stated that no coal mine / block has been auctioned in the last one year under the provisions of the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015.. However, 6 coal mines have been allotted to State Government Undertakings for sale of coal in the last one year under the provisions of the said Act.
The Minister further stated that the Government has not fixed any revenue generation target from the auction/allotment of coal mines.A monitoring mechanism for the development of the coal mines in accordance with the efficiency parameters specified in the agreement is in place. The Nominated Authority reviews the progress of coal mines allocated under Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 on a regular basis. Failure by the allocattee companies in adhering to the terms and conditions / efficiency parameters for the development of the coal mines results in measures as stipulated in the agreement which includes appropriation of the performance bank guarantee and cancellation of the Allotment / Vesting Order, the Minister added.
Giving further details, the Minister said that an Online Coal Project Monitoring Portal has been established in the Ministry of Coal for resolving issues pending at the State level. Clarifications have been issued on various issues hampering mine development for expeditious operationalization of coal mines.
