176 bids received for 23 coal mines on auction

Of the 23 coal blocks on offer in the first tranche of the ongoing auction of allotments cancelled by the apex court, a maximum number of 16 bids were received Tuesday for Gare Palma IV/7 block in Chhattisgarh among the total 176.

A total of 176 preliminary bids were received by the government, Coal Secretary Anil Swarup told reporters here after the technical bids were opened in the presence of bidders.

"The response has been as per our expectation and most of the major players have participated in it," Swarup said.

"Auction process will be web cast to maintain transparency," he added.

Twelve bids each were received for Tokisud North block in Jharkhand, Bicharpur mine in Madhya Pradesh and Gare Palma IV/4 in Chhattisgarh. Tokisud North was previously allocated to GVK Power, Bicharpur had been given to Madhya Pradesh State Mining Corp and Gare Palma IV/4 to Jayaswal Neco.

The Supreme Court had in September 2014 cancelled the allotment of 204 mines made between 1993 and 2010, terming the allotments as "arbitrary and illegal".

The tender process for the 23 coal mines started Dec 27 last year and "bidders submitted their technical bids on an MSTC portal created for the purpose", the coal ministry said.

"The electronic bids were decrypted and opened electronically in the presence of bidders. Entire process was displayed on the screen for the bidders. Subsequently, sealed envelopes containing bank guarantee, power of attorney and affidavits were also opened in the presence of bidders," a ministry statement said.

These bids will be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary technical evaluation committee to shortlist bidders for participation in the electronic auction to be conducted on MSTC portal from Feb 14, it added.