6 Coal Mines Commence Production Through Commercial Auctions

Under the Commercial Coal Mine Auction launched by the Ministry of Coal three years ago, 91 mines were successfully auctioned so far. Of these allocated mines, six commercial mines have already started coal production and another three are likely to start production in a couple of months.

Offering 31 coal mines of four States for auction, the 9^th tranche of auction was launched recently in December, 2023. Mines pertaining to coal/lignite-bearing states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana comes under the 9th tranche of auction. The Ministry of Coal has so far successfully completed seven rounds of auction under totally transparent online auction launched by the Prime Minister in 2020.

Coal mining from the already auctioned mines is estimated to bring an annual revenue of Rs. 33,343 crore, considering production at aggregated Peak Rate Capacity level of 220.90 million tonne per annum (MTPA). Once these mines are fully operational, they will generate employment for around three lakh persons, directly and indirectly.

Commercial coal mining is expected to bring new investments to the country  and the entire revenue from the auctions would be allocated to the coal-bearing States of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.