The Lok Sabha passed the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2014 by a voice vote on Friday.
The Bill seeks to replace the Ordinance, promulgated in October this year and intends to ensure continuity in coal mining operations and production of coal for promoting optimum utilisation of coal resources.
Replying to the debate on the Bill, Coal Minister Piyush Goyal sought to dispel the apprehension of members about de-nationalisation of coal mines, saying that government has no such plan rather it wants to strengthen the public sector Coal India.
Goyal assured the House that the government will maintain utmost transparency in the allocation of the coal blocks.
He said, the government companies will be allotted the coal blocks on the basis of reserve price while in case of private companies it will be done on the basis of e-auction.
The minister clarified that the revenue generated from the e- auction will directly go to the states where the mines are located and the benefit will be passed on to the consumers.
States like Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh will be benefitted the most.
He said, the interests of the power consumers have been well taken care of and there would be no increase in power bills.
Goyal assured 24-hour power supply to the consumers.
Responding to the concerns about the safety and welfare of the coal mine workers, Goyal assured the House that there are already provisions in the existing legislations.
Earlier, participating in the discussion, Jyotiraditya Scindia of Congress and Tathagata Satapathy of the BJD demanded that the bill be referred to the standing committee for further deliberation before passage.
