Union Coal Minister Prahlad Joshi on Monday said the first auction of coal blocks for commercial use had been successful and called on state governments to support and cooperate with successful bidders. A total of 19 coal blocks across Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha with total geological reserves of 3,069 million tonnes of coal have been auctioned off in the first phase of auctions for commercial coal mining.
The government had, in June, announced the opening up of coal blocks for commercial use, along with a slew of measures to attract investors as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign. Chhattisgarh’s Gare Palma IV/7 coal block, which was auctioned on Monday, received the highest bid of 66.75 per cent revenue sharing from Sarda Energy and Minerals Ltd.
