Coal ministry releases Rs 210 cr to states towards auction fees

The amount is for coal bearing host states of Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh & Maharashtra

The Ministry of Coal has released Rs 210.33 crore as upfront payment to states towards auction of coal blocks.The amount is for coal bearing host states of Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.

Odisha has the highest share in the payment among states at Rs 144.14 crore for auction of Talabira-I, Talabira-II & III and the Utkal D&E coal blocks.The amount has accrued from 14 coal blocks that have gone under the hammer in these five states.

Auction of coal blocks is expected to mop up Rs 3.45 lakh crore to the national exchequer. Coal block auctions were initiated after the CAG had, in a report tabled in Parliament in 2012, pegged the notional loss to the national exchequer at Rs 1.86 lakh crore on account of improper allocation of coal mines done by the UPA government.

The first round of coal autions is likely to fetch the Odisha government a revenue of Rs 45,630 crore. The projected amount would accrue to the state government by way of e-auction proceeds, royalty fees and fixed reserve price. So far, nine coal blocks from the state have been put to auctions. All blocks have been earmarked for the power sector.

The Government of India has lined up 16 more coal blocks for auctions. Of the 16 blocks to be put up for auction, five are located in Madhya Pradesh, three in Telengana in southern India, two blocks each in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra and one each in Odisha and West Bengal.

In this round of auctions, it would be for the first time that commercial coal mining would be opened up. Presently, only central PSUs-Coal India Ltd and Singareni Collieries are allowed merchant sale of the dry fuel.