Assam seeks Odisha's help for re allocation of Mandakini-B block

Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has urged his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik to take up the matter with Centre for the re allocation of the lost Mandakini B coal block in Odisha’s Angul district.

“ I request you to kindly look  into the matter so that prospecting license to the  joint venture is granted urgently and alos take up with Government of India for revival of the allocation of the block”, Gogoi wrote to Patnaik recently.

Mandakini-B coal block which has a reserve of 1200 million tonne, was jointly allocated to four PSUs, including Odisha Mining Corporation and Assam Mineral Development Corporation in July 2007 for the use of coal for power generation.   

Other PSUs to which the coal block was allotted are Meghalaya Mineral Development Corporation and Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.

A joint venture was formed in 2009 with equal participation of all four allocates for exploration and exploitation of the block. The task of exploration of the coal was assigned to Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Ltd (CMPDIL), a subsidiary of Coal India limited.

“ However, the detail exploration work could not be taken up for want of prospecting license to be issued by the Government of Odisha, in spite of completing all procedural requirement for the purpose”, Gogoi stated in the letter.

He further stated, the joint venture company has been persuading Odisha government for grant of prospecting license (PL) to the company.

The chief secretary of Assam had taken up the issue of grant of PL with his counterpart in the state in 2011.

Mentioning Mandakini- B coal block as the only coal to PSU of Assam government , Gogoi expressed the poor power situation  in the state is a serious concern and this block would have been of immense help to meet the deficit.

The ministry of coal based on the recommendations of the Inter Ministerial Group(IMG), had deallocated the coal block and demanded encashment of 50 per cent bank guarantee in December last year.