NEW DELHI: Gautam Adani’s Adani Enterprises on Saturday won the rights for the Gondulpara coal mine in Jharkhand. Adani Enterprises made a final offer of 20.75 per cent revenue sharing for the Gondulpara coal mine, the coal ministry said. The mine will generate an annual revenue of Rs 520.92 crore and has a geological reserves of 176.33 million tonnes of coal, according to the ministry. The bidding for coal mines in Jharkhand comes in the backdrop of Friday’s Supreme Court order that said the allocation of coal blocks for commercial mining would be subject to its directions.
“Any subsequent order of licence, lease etc shall be provisional for now, subject to final orders of the court,” it had said. The Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government had previously filed a case with the apex court against the Centre’s move to auction mining rights for the commercial sale of coal. In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the auction process for the commercial mining of 41 coal blocks, a move that opened up the coal sector to private players. Companies like Vedanta Ltd and EMIL Mines and Mineral Resources Ltd had also been vying for the Jharkhand coal block allocated on Saturday. Only one coal mine from Jharkhand was put up for auction on day six of the auction.
The coal ministry said that the e-auction had witnessed strong competition and that the mine had attracted a good premium over the floor price. Including Saturday’s single block, the government has so far auctioned 18 mines. A total of 38 coal mines have been listed for e-auction, out of which n i n e a r e s i t u a t e d i n Jharkhand.