Govt. issues draft rules for e-auction of 74 coal blocks

The NDA Government has issued draft guidelines for the e-auction of 74 coal blocks in the first phase out of 204 that had been cancelled by the Supreme Court.

Union Coal Secretary Anil Swarup told media here yesterday that the bids for coal blocks to be auctioned in the first phase will be due on February 11, 2015.

He also said auction process will focus on how to avoid monopoly and put a cap on the number of coal blocks a company can bid for.

After announcing the new guidelines, the government made it clear that the auction will not be a revenue maximising exercise.

It also said it would make sure that power tariffs do not rise after the auction.

The Union Coal Ministry has also asked allottees of the 74 mines to provide the information of their fields by November 24.

The government proposes to complete the entire process by March 31, 2015.

According to the draft rules the e-auction of coal blocks will have a two-stage tender process of technical and financial bids.

The e-auction of coal blocks got the approval from President Pranab Mukherjee, who promulgated an Ordinance in the backdrop of Supreme Court had cancelled the allotment of 204 mines since 1993 terming them arbitrary and illegal.

The government claimed that these rules will provide a sense of certainty to the business environment and enhance credibility of the auction process.