New Delhi: The government on Tuesday allotted 38 mines to central and state public sector units including power major NTPC, DVC and steel giant SAIL.
The move comes on the heels of the auction of 33 coal blocks in two tranches to private companies with the government garnering over Rs 2 lakh crore, surpassing CAG's earlier estimates of losses of Rs 1.86 lakh crore on allotment without auction.
"Government has alloted 38 coal mines to central and state PSUs," Coal Secretary Anil Swarup told PTI.
As per the original plan, the government had to allot 43 mines but it came out with the list of only 38 mines as there were no applications for some coal blocks, officials said.
All the blocks allotted are for the power sector, barring one Sitanala mine given to SAIL.
As per the government list, out of the 38 blocks, a maximum of 8 blocks -- Barjora, Barjora (North), Gangaramchak & Gangaramchak Bhadulia, Tara East & Tara West, Pachwara North and Kasta East have fallen in the bag of West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd.
Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd has been given six blocks - Baranj I, II, III & IV and Manora Deep and Kiloni.
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) bagged five mines -- Chhatti Bariatu, Chatti Bariatu (South), Kerandari, Talaipalli amd Dulanga.
Damodar Valley Corporation has been allotted Khagra Joydev block.
Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam was allotted three blocks - Parsa East, Kanta Basan and Parsa, while Chattisgarh State Power Generation Company has been given three mines - Gare Palma Sector III, Gidhmuri and Patoria blocks.
Odisha Coal and Power got two blocks - Manoharpur and Manoharpur Dipside blocks.
Most of these 38 blocks have gone to the earlier allocatees. The Supreme Court had in September cancelled the allocations of 204 blocks in all, terming the process as "fatally flawed", leading the current round of auctions and allocations.
NTPC said the blocks alloted to it will help boost power production.
"Our over 24,000 MW capacity is under construction. The allocations will help us generate new capacity," NTPC spokesperson said.
NTPC was the previous allottee of 5 blocks given to it, of which three fall in Jharkhand and one each in Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
Sitanala coal block in Jharkahnd, which has an estimated over 100 million tonnes (MT) of reserves, would help the state-owned steel maker SAIL to partially tide over its coking coal requirement for sometime. The block was earlier also allotted to SAIL.
Most of the mines allotted today fall in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha while one - Tadicherla mine falls in the new state of Telangana.
The Coal Ministry had earlier received 107 applications from PSUs for allocation of 43 coal blocks.
Gare Palma II mine in Chhattisgarh got 9 applications, highest for a single block. The mine which was previously allotted to Maharashtra State Mining Corporation and Tamil Nadu State Electricity Board jointly, went to Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Ltd.
The companies apart from Maharastra Power PSU which had applied for Gare Palma II mine included NTPC, Singareni Collieries Co Ltd, Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corp and Gujarat Staten Electricity Corp.
The allotment process for mines had started on February 18. As per the list, Punjab State Power Corporation got Pachhwara Central, Telangana State Power Generation Corporation won Tadicherla, Jharkhand Urja Utpadan Nigam won Banhardih and Tenughat Vidyut Nigam got Rajbar D & E mines.
Bihar State Power Generation Company was given Badam mine, Singareni Collieries Companies was allotted Naini, UP Rajya Vidut Utapandan Nigam got Saharpur Jamarpani, Gujarat State Electricity Corporation bagged Gare Palma Sector I and Maharashtra State Power Generation Company was allotted Gare Palma Sector II.
The blocks which were not allotted included Mara II Mahan, Mahanadi Machchhakata, Chendipada and Chendipada II.
Parliament last week approved Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015, which forms part of NDA government's reforms agenda, in the nick of time on the last day of the first half of Budget session and the ordinance on this were to lapse on April 5.
