The Government has auctioned 31 coal mines (17 Schedule II & 14 Schedule III) so far in three tranches under the provisions of the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 and the Rules made there under. This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines today in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha .
The Minister further informed that out of the 17 Schedule II coal mines auctioned, which were operational before cancellation by the Supreme Court, mining operations have commenced/mine opening permission granted in 10 Schedule II coal mines. In addition, 1 Schedule III coal mine is also operational/mine opening permission granted. Rest of the Schedule II coal mines are in the process of starting mining operations after obtaining necessary statutory clearances as well as appointment of mining contractor. In many cases, the matter of appointment of Mine Developer & Operator is sub-judice. Schedule III coal mines are expected to commence mining only in the next 2-3 years as they were not operational at the time of the allocation.
Shri Goyal further said that 45 Court cases are pending relating to Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 and the auction conducted under the Act. Out of these 45 cases, hearing has been completed and judgement is reserved by Hon’ble Delhi High Court in 25 cases.
Revenue which would accrue to the coal bearing State Government concerned from allocation of coal mines comprises of Upfront payment as prescribed in the Tender /Allotment document, Auction/Allotment proceeds and Royalty on per tonne of coal production. Of the 31 coal mines auctioned, 10 are located in the State of Jharkhand. The revenue which shall accrue to the State of Jharkhand during the life of mine/lease period from the auction of 10 coal mines under the provisions of the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 is estimated at Rs. 49,273 Crores, the Minister said.
Shri Goyal stated that the number of coal mines allocated to private sector in the three tranches of auction for utilization in specified end uses i.e. Power (Regulated Sector) and Steel, Cement, Captive Power Production (Non-Regulated Sector) is 30, out of a total of 31.