The coal ministry has deferred indefinitely the fifth tranche of coal block auction citing lack of demand from bidders.
The Fifth tranche of auction was earmarked for the specified end use of production of Iron and Steel. However, the lack of adequate number of bids from Steel makers, had forced the Coal Ministry to suspend the bidding process.
The ministry has issued notification to the bidders that the demo e-auction and reverse e-auction will not take place as per the schedule. The ministry had also cancelled the fourth tranche of auction due to lack of adequate number of bidders.
Six coal blocks were offered for the fifth tranche of auction-five of them were from Jharkhand and one belongs to Madhya Pradesh. Most of the coal blocks did not receive even the minimum three bids required for reverse e-auction.
5th Tranche of Coal Block Auction | List of Mines
| Coal Mine | Schedule | Location | Estimated Capacity |
| Brahmadiha | III | Jharkhand | 0.15 |
| Choritand Tiliaya | III | Jharkhand | 0.78 |
| Jogeshwar and Khas Jogeshwar | III | Jharkhand | 0.60 |
| Rabodih OCP | III | Jharkhand | 2.50 |
| Rohne | III | Jharkhand | 8.00 |
| Utran North | III | Madhya Pradesh | 0.60 |
Capacity in MnT per annum
The Coal ministry has received a request from Steel ministry to award the blocks to the interested firms that have participated in the auction, in spite the lack of participation.
Stressed condition of Steel Companies regarding loan settlement and bad financial condition could be attributed to the lackluster demand in current auction. Few of them have been entitled in the list of 12 most stressed loan cases being pursued under the insolvency and bankruptcy.
Only JSW Steel and Tata Steel have shown interest in the ongoing round of auctions.
The fifth round of coal auction had started in Apr’17, and the ministry after examining the technical bids was suppose to execute agreement between successful bidder and nominated authority on 26 Jul’17.
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