Odisha to auction five mineral blocks after new rules

After the recent notification of the new Mineral Auction Rules, the Odisha government is gearing up to put five mineral blocks under the hammer. 

"We are going to issue Notice Inviting Tenders (NIT) for three iron ore, one manganese and one graphite block by the end of this month. The auctions would be conducted according to the revised Rules issued by the Union mines ministry”, said a government official.

Under the new Rules, states have the flexibility of allocating the block in the second round itself even if there are less than three bidders. This provision is expected to make the auction