Talabira-I coal block —which had been allotted to Kumarmangalam Birla-led Hindalco in 1994 and which is currently under CBI lens for alleged irregularities in the usage of coal sourced from it — has evinced interest from as many as six bidders. The Pioneer has exclusively gathered information regarding 23 coal blocks (currently under production) which are to be electronically auctioned by March 23, 2015 to private companies involved mainly in power sector.
Though the Government initially received 310 bids from interested entities for the aforementioned blocks, the final tally of technical bidders fell to 176 on February 3 (Tuesday), which was the last date for submitting the technical bids. The Coal Ministry has placed these blocks in Schedule II.
Official sources claimed that physical verification of documents submitted by bidders is still underway, however, information available with this newspaper indicates that the total number of bidders have come down considerably.
Talabira-I block has been grouped along with 22 other reserves under Schedule II. Initially 17 bidders had shown interest in it, but the number fell to six. Schedule II consists of blocks which had been cancelled by the Supreme Court on September 24, 2014 but had been given time till March 31, 2015 to wind up their operations as they are still under production. Similarly Gare Palma IV/2 and Gare Palma IV/3 (considered as single block by the
Coal Ministry while being offered for auction), as well as Gare Palma IV/1, all of which were previously allotted to Jindal Steel and Power ltd (JSPl) have attracted interest from 11 bidders each. Initially the number of bidders, who had shown interest in these blocks were 20 and 13 respectively.
Another block Gare Palma IV/5, which was earlier with Monet Ispat ltd, has attracted attention from 9 bidders. Earlier 15 bidders had evinced interest in this block. Tokisud North, a block previously allotted to GVK Power, too has evinced interest, as 12 bidders have shown interest in it. Here too, initially 21 bidders had shown interest.
The Government, which promulgated the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance 2014 in December, to allow auction as well as allotment of all the 204 cancelled blocks in a phased manner, has begun the process of auctioning.
After the Supreme Court order, the Government placed all the 204 cancelled blocks in Schedule I. Out of this, 42 blocks (which are currently under production) are placed under Schedule II. While 32 blocks, which are on the verge of production, are slotted under Schedule III.
However for auction purpose, only 23 blocks have been placed for bidding by the Government under Schedule II, and under Schedule III the Government has offered only 23 blocks for auction. The remaining blocks under both the schedules will be allotted to Government-owned companies, sources said.
The Government last week had extended the last date to February 3, 2015 for submission of technical bids for auction of 23 coal blocks placed under Schedule II. These bids will now be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary Technical Evaluation Committee to shortlist bidders for participation in the electronic auction, which will be conducted between February 14 and February 22, 2015.
The last date for submission of bids was extended as interested bidders had sought more time from the Government, said sources privy to the development. For Schedule II blocks, the auction will be held between February 14 and February 22 and the vesting orders will be issued by March 23, 2015.
While for Schedule III blocks, the auction will take place between February 25 and March 5. The vesting orders will be issued by April 2, 2015. The Coal Ministry last week started the process for allocation of 36 mines to PSUs. Of the 36 blocks listed by the Government, 35 will go to power PSUs, while one has been earmarked for a steel PSU.