Cabinet opens up coal mining
NEW DELHI: The Cabinet on Wednesday changed rules to allow coal mines to be auctioned to businesses without any end-use clause, effectively opening up the highly regulated sector dominated by state-run coal companies to greater participation from private players.
The Cabinet approved the promulgation of Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020, which will amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 (MMDR Act) and Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act 2015 (CMSP Act). The earlier restrictions that bidders for coal mines need be either steel mills, power plants or cement factories which would use the coal mined only for their internal consumption has been scrapped.
