Govt plans to auction 2 limestone blocks in October

The government plans to auction two limestone blocks having reserves of around 600 million tonne (MT), in October.

Of the two blocks, one is in Andhra Pradesh and the other is in Gujarat, according to an official document.

The Chintalayapalle-Abdullapuram-Korumanipalli (CAK) limestone block in Andhra Pradesh with reserves of 104.68 MT will be auctioned on October 12.

The Bhatvadiya block in Gujarat with reserves of 477.2 MT will go under the hammer on October 17, the document said.

Meanwhile, the auction of two iron ore blocks in Odisha having reserves of around 100 MT has been deferred, it said.

The Centre had earlier said it was considering granting all approvals, including environmental clearance, to mineral blocks before putting them up for sale, a move that may give a push to the auctions.

Government says India may not make much progress in auctioning of mineral blocks in the future unless issues related to green clearances and land rights are addressed upfront.

It has given in-principle approval to provide single clearance for environment and forest to the new lease holders of the 288 mining leases expiring in two years.

From the 50 mineral blocks auctioned so far, the government will earn a revenue of Rs 1.81 lakh crore over the lease period.