Coal Ministry conducts e-auction of 8 mines of five states under commercial coal mining auction
The Coal Ministry on Tuesday conducted e-auction of eight mines of five states under commercial coal mining auction. Total coal reserves of these mines are two thousand 157 million tonnes which are situated in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.
The Coal Ministry said, Sursa mine in Chattisgarh, Dahegaon-Makardhokra-IV and Marki Mangli-IV mines of Maharashtra, Jitpur and Basantpur mines of Jharkhand, Bandha North mine of Madhya Pradesh and Rampia & Dip Side of Rampia mine of Odisha were e-auctioned today.
The Ministry said, Rampia and Dip Side of Rampia mine in Odisha has the maximum 1179.41 million tonnes geological reserve. Bandha North mine in Madhya Pradesh has the 500 geological reserve followed by Basantpur mine which is situated in Jharkhand. The Union Government has set a target to auction more than 107 coal blocks in the near future.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the auction of coal mines for commercial mining in June 2020 with an aim to achieve self-sufficiency in meeting energy needs and boost industrial development. It was more than 45 years after the nationalization of coal mines in the country, when the government opened the coal sector for commercial mining by private players. Despite having the 4th largest coal reserves in the world, India is second largest importer.
