Report on reserves of six coal mines may be submitted in March

Govt, which was initially planning to auction six mines in the first tranche, is targeting to auction about 10 blocks now

CMPDIL, the mining and consultancy firm of Coal India Ltd, may submit its report in March on reserves of six mines likely to be put up for auction.

"CMPDIL, which has been asked by the Coal Ministry to assess the reserves of six more mines, may submit its report in March," an official said.

However, the official declined to give further details of the blocks proposed to be auctioned to private parties.

The government, which was initially planning to auction six mines in the first tranche, is targeting to auction about 10 blocks now.

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had said on Tuesday that the coal blocks auction may happen in March, 2014.

The Cabinet had earlier approved the methodology for auction, providing for upfront and production linked payments and benchmarking of coal sale prices.

An official statement had earlier said that coal blocks would be put up for auction after the Environment Ministry's review and bidders agreed to a minimum work programme.

The policy provides for a production linked payment on a rupee per tonne basis, plus a basic upfront payment of 10% of the coal block's intrinsic value.

A parliamentary panel had earlier criticised the government for undue delays in allotment of coal mines through auction route, amid dry-fuel crunch faced by the country.