G Kishan Reddy launches 10th tranche of commercial coal block auction

New Delhi: Stressing the role played by coal in ensuring India’s energy security, Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy launched on Friday the 10th tranche of commercial coal mine auctions in Hyderabad, putting on offer a total of 67 coal mines for the private sector. These 67 coal mines are spread across the states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal and Telangana and include both fully explored and partially explored mines, and three coking coal mines.

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“The Ministry of Coal has taken a series of reforms to ensure that the coal sector grows at a rapid pace and is able to meet the country’s energy needs. For 10th Tranche also, mines falling under protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, critical habitats, having forest cover greater than 40 percent, 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,” said the Ministry of coal in a statement.

The sale of tender document has started from Friday. The details of the mines, auction terms, timelines, etc can be accessed on the MSTC auction platform and the website of the Ministry of Coal. The auction shall be held online through a transparent two-stage process, based on Percentage Revenue Share.

Coal critical for USD 5-trillion economy: Reddy

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister for Coal emphasised the critical role of coal as the lifeline for all industries and its pivotal contribution in achieving a 5 trillion-dollar economy. He stressed that all coal entrepreneurs should collaborate towards nation’s development and align with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making India Aatmanirbhar in coal by making collective efforts and reducing the dependency on coal imports. 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 governments.

Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of Coal, which has been working diligently to make the country self-sufficient in the coal sector by significantly reducing foreign imports and producing nearly 1 Billion Tonne (BT) of coal in the last financial year, meeting the nation’s energy needs.

Minister of State for Coal Satish Chandra Dubey assured to provide all the necessary support to the coal block allocatees by improving the ease of doing business. He informed that suggestions and feedback are being taken from the coal industry players for improving the attractiveness of the coal sector. Further, he emphasised the importance of the coal mining sector in making India Aatmanirbhar in coal.

Need more coal to meet rising energy demand: Coal Secretary

In his keynote address, Coal Secretary Amrit Lal Meena placed significant emphasis on enhancing coal production to meet the rising energy demands and 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 further called for robust state-level support to streamline the ease of doing business within the coal sector. He pointed out that such support is vital for fostering a conducive business environment that can attract investments and facilitate smoother operations.

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 coal. He stressed that leveraging private investment and expertise is crucial for meeting the growing energy needs and ensuring steady coal supply to various industries. Opening more coal blocks for exploration and encouraging private participation will help the coal sector in achieving higher production targets, he said.

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