Allotment of 81 coal blocks for captive mining soon

The plan to allot around 81 coal blocks for captive mining by power developers is on the verge of being finalised. These blocks have an aggregate capacity of 20 billion tonnes.

Crucially, a decision by the Energy Coordination Committee headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to auction coal blocks on a competitive bidding basis has also been referred to the law ministry.

The matter was discussed at a recent secretary-level meeting chaired by TKA Nair, principal secretary to the prime minister. It was decided to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, to provide for competitive bids for all minerals including coal and lignite.

The ministry of mines insisted that only coal and lignite be included, with all other minerals being considered separately after the report of the high-level committee on mineral policy is received. Accordingly, a revised formulation has been sent for the law ministry's advice.

In addition, a proposal to impose a 3-5 per cent cess on domestic coal to fund infrastructure augmentation in the energy sector has been shelved.

The committee of secretaries of the central government has decided not to pursue the plan for the cess. The ECC had asked the coal and power secretaries to prepare a detailed plan for levying the cess.