New Delhi, Nov 14: The Ministry of Coal will auction 39 coal blocks of five states in the eighth round including 19 from Odisha for commercial mining on November 15, 2023.
Eleven mines of Odisha will be auctioned under Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and the remaining eight blocks under Coal Mines (Special Provision) Act, 2015.
Eight of the 19 coal blocks that will go for auction are fully explored while 11 blocks are partially explored.
The ministry has also developed a single window clearance portal to facilitate the grant of clearances and approvals to successful bidders. It has also appointed a project monitoring unit (PMU) for land holding of bidders in getting various clearances.
Similarly, three coal blocks of Bihar, seven of Jharkhand, five of Maharashtra and nine of West Bengal will go under hammer.
The commercial auction of coal blocks commenced in 2020 for the first time and 91 mines have been auctioned so far.
