NEW DELHI, June 24: The government has asked the Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDIL) to conduct exploration of 54 mines to estimate the quantum of coal for fixing the reserve price of these blocks which will be auctioned.
The Coal Ministry had recently identified 54 blocks to be allocated through competitive bidding route to various sectors, including steel, power and cement.
The decision for a detailed exploration of mines was taken in a meeting held on June 19 under the Chairmanship of Coal Secretary S K Srivastava.
“The Coal Ministry has asked CMPDI for detailed exploration of 54 coal blocks to assess the quantum of coal for fixing the reserve price of mines,” a Coal Ministry official said.
The 54 coal mines have already undergone regional exploration, the source said.
The Coal Ministry has also asked Crisil to prepare the methodology for determining the reserve price of coal blocks to be auctioned. Crisil has been asked to submit its report within three months.
To ensure transparency, the government had earlier announced that from now on coal blocks for captive use would be allocated through competitive bidding.
The Coal Ministry is in the midst of a controversy after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in an initial report estimated Rs 10.6 lakh crore loss to the exchequer due to allotment of coal blocks during 2004 to 2009 without auction to 100 private and public sector companies.
However, CAG Vinod Rai later said the media reports quoting the loss of Rs 10.76 lakh crore did “not even constitute our pre-final draft and are exceedingly misleading”. (PTI)
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