Output woes continue at auctioned coal blocks

The government also allotted 11 mines to state energy departments for meeting their power demands

The production from coal blocks, awarded through the first auction in the country three years ago, continues to be very low. In the case of blocks awarded to the power sector, the production is nil.

An analysis of the 34 auctioned and 11 allotted coal blocks has revealed that the current production from these mines is half of what was envisaged annually over a 30-year period. This has also impacted the host states which have received barely 27 per cent of the annual revenue they were supposed to earn from these mines, as per the data available from the coal ministry