No bids were received for three coal blocks out of four, for which the Union Ministry of Coal had re-invited tenders. The four coal blocks for which bids were re-invited are Chendipada, Chendipada-II and Kuraloi in Odisha and Shergada in Jharkhand.
One bid was received for Kuraloi (A) North Coal Block. No bids were received for the other coal blocks.Earlier the tender process for these coal blocks was annulled in the first round of auction for commercial mining as the number of technically qualified bidders for each mine was just one. The coal blocks which are fully explored have an annual peak-rated capacity of 52 million tonne (MT).The nominated authority initiated the second attempt of auction of these coal mines with the same terms and conditions as in the first annulled attempt of auction.
The auction process of four coal mines for sale of coal was launched by the ministry on December 9, 2020. The last date for submission of Technical Bid was 27 January, 2021.
The auction of coal blocks for commercial mining has opened India’s coal sector to private players. Some of the large corporate houses that have bagged coal blocks include Adani Enterprises, Vedanta, Hindalco Industries and Jindal Power.
