After successfully concluding the first tranche of auction for commercial coal mining, the ministry has launched the second round of auction in an event held today.
Expanding the pool of blocks, the nominated authority has offered 67 blocks for sale from 6 different states of the country. Notably, this is the highest number of blocks on offer in a particular tranche after commencement of auction regime since 2014.
However, whole 5 blocks from West Bengal, along with two from Odisha and one from Jharkhand failed to make the final cut, which were earlier proposed for sale in the previous tentative list.
Adaptation of rolling auction mechanism
Lauding the efforts of nominated authority for its role in past success of auction, Coal Minister-Mr. Prahlad Joshi informed that the government is moving towards adopting a ‘Rolling Auction’ mechanism in which a pool of coal blocks would always remain available for auctions.
Although, minimum number of bidders has been kept 2 in the first attempt, the nominated authority would initiate a second attempt for sale of the blocks which had received a single bid. Thereafter, that blocks would be allotted even if only one bid is received.
The unsold blocks would again be considered for sale in subsequent stages thus expediting the auction setup, and also helping bidders in better planning so that they can secure the block of their preference.
No major amendment was introduced regarding the allotment process, except for expanding the lock-in period in case of partially explored blocks which has been revised to a second phase lasting from preparation of geological report till execution of mining lease or order by the central government.
It is pertinent to note that among the list of offered coal blocks, 37 are fully explored while the remaining 30 are partially explored blocks.
Schedule for Sale
Subsequent to the launch of second tranche, the ministry has invited prospective bidders to take part in the auction process prior to which their concerns and request regarding site visit would be addressed.
The successful bidder would be announced by the first week of Aug ’21, after emerging winner in the final round of electronic auction slated to take place in Jun-Jul ’21.
Detailed time-line for Auction has been provided below:
*Pre-bid meeting: 15 Apr ’21
*Last date for registration: 21 May ’21
*Bid due date: 27 May ’21
*Opening of technical bid: 28 May ’21
*Examination of technical bids: 31 May-23 Jun ’21
*Conduct of electronic auction: 28 Jun-28 Jul ’21
*Selection of successful bidder: 2 Aug ’21
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