Odisha was the first off the mark in auctioning an iron ore block, but is now trailing in putting more online for sale.
Out of the 68 mineral blocks auctioned across India till August 6, only five were up for bidding in Odisha: three iron ore and rest limestone and manganese.
Karnataka led the field by auctioning 18 blocks. The figure includes 14 Category C mines, which were auctioned on the Supreme Court's orders before the amended Mines and Minerals- Development & Regulation (MMDR) Act of 2015 was promulgated. Last month, Karnataka auctioned four iron ore blocks- three of which