The government today said selling 10 per cent of coal through e-auction by the Coal India Limited has helped checking malpractices, corruption and black marketing.
"E-auction was introduced to check rising corruption in the coal market. It is for smaller users who have not been given any coal linkage," Minister of State of Coal Sriprakash Jaiswal said in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.
During 2008-09, a total quantity of 488 lakh tonnes was allocated under e-auction, by various companies under CIL, to the successful bidders, the minister said adding CIL was doing it not to make profit out of this but to help smaller users.
He, however, said that there were not many bidders for procuring coal through e-auction.
Replying to a supplementary, he said, coal was in short supply in India but the government was trying to supply the required quantity to the power plants at a pre-determined price.
He said only 10 per cent of the coal can be sold through e-auction and the remaining 90 per cent is distributed as per the requirement of various manufacturers like power plants, cement manufacturers and others.