NEW DELHI: In what could be termed as revenue bonanza for the government from the ongoing auction of coal mines, the government is likely to garner more than Rs 2 lakh crore from the auction of only 32 coal blocks so far out of total 204.
Anil Swaroop, Coal Secretary said, “Proceeds from coal auction likely to cross Rs 2 lakh crore.” Monnet Power Company bagged the Utkal C mine in Odisha on Monday from the ongoing auctions - for an estimated Rs 9,537.22 crore.
According to information available on the official website for the coal auctions, the Utkal C was bagged by Monnet Power Company Ltd with a closing bid of Rs 770 a tonne.
Utkal C has an extractable reserve of 123.86 million tonnes. It was previously allotted to Utkal Coal Ltd.
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had earlier said that mines allocation without auction during the UPA period led to loss of staggering Rs 1.86 lakh crore.
During the first three days of the second tranche of coal auction, the government has sold nine mines mostly in eastern states to players such as Adani, Hindalco, JSW and Jindal among others for Rs 43,307 crore.
There are two methods of bidding for auction of coal blocks -- forward bidding (for unregulated sectors and reverse bidding (for specified end use for power generation).
The last day for auction of the mines in this second tranche is March 9. The government has put at least 15 coal blocks in this round of auction as per the tentative list. Over 80 applications have been found to be technically qualified for the ready-to-produce mines being put on auction.