Govt begins process to auction 27 coal mines and allocate 15 blocks to PSUs

The government on Monday said it has begun the process of auction of 27 coal mines and allotment of 15 blocks to public sector undertakings.

"The Ministry of Coal has started the process of auction of 27 coal mines and allotment of 15 coal mines to central PSU and state PSUs (public sector undertakings)," the coal ministry said in a statement.

According to the objective of auctioning of coal blocks, the government said it is auctioning 21 coal mines for end-use non-regulated sectors and six coking coal mines for end-use iron and steel sector, the ministry said.

In case of allotment of blocks for PSUs, five coal mines are for power sector, nine for sale of coal and one for iron and steel, it said.

"At peak rated capacity (PRC), these 42 coal mines will produce approximately 70 million tonne per annum (MTPA)," it said.

"Notice inviting tender and notice inviting application have been published in the newspaper... The electronic bidding will be conducted on Metal Scrap Trading Corporation (MSTC) platform," it said.

The last date of registration of bidder and sale of tender document is September 13 and the bid's due date is September 19.

"The electronic bidding will be conducted on MSTC platform from October 10, 2019 to November 8, 2019," it said.