On the eve of two-day mega event — Resurgent Rajasthan Partnership Summit — scheduled to be held on Thursday here, the Government of Rajasthan is up into action, saying that the State is well on its way to be the first in the country to conclude e-auction of minerals. In a move to generate optimum revenue for the State exchequer, the Rajasthan Government has claimed that three limestone blocks — two in Chittorgarh and one in Nagaur – are already ready for bidding.
“Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had directed the Mines and Geology Department to operationalise a fully transparent e-auction process for the granting of mining leases in order to realise the true economic value of mineral resources and generate optimum revenue for the State exchequer. We are now fully geared to do that,” said Deepak Upreti, Principal Secretary, Department of Mines & Petroleum of Rajasthan.
However, the entire process of auction of the three blocks, scheduled to take place in the last week of January 2016, from registration to finalisation of bids, will be online. “Going ahead, the State Government also plans to continue with the process of e-auction for other minerals too,” Upreti said.
In order to ease the process, the notice inviting the tender for grant of mining leases for the limestone blocks has been hosted on the websites of MSTC, Director of Mines & Geology and the Government of Rajasthan under e-procurement. Interested bidders can participate in the bidding after online purchase of the tender document, according to a statement released on Wednesday.
“The bids have been invited under the two-bid system where the bidders will qualify on the basis of pre-qualification net worth criteria and those who provide an adequate initial price offer will be allowed to participate in the second round of financial bidding,” it said, adding that the potential bidders will be provided a demonstration of the e-auction process and training for participation by MSTC.
In fact, MSTC has been appointed to provide e-auction services and to conduct the whole process. It has earlier successfully conducted e-auction for coal blocks.
“The tender documents have been prepared for e-auction in consultation with MECON ltd., a Central Government undertaking, based on the provision of MMDR (Amendment) Act, 2015, Mineral Auction Rules 2015 and the Mineral Policy of the State,” the statement added.
The mega summit, scheduled to be held in Jaipur on November 19-20, 2015, will bring together leading investors from all over the world for interacting with policy makers, including the political leadership, Government officials and, local business leaders on the investment environment and opportunities in Rajasthan.
Besides, the summit will focus the model of Rajasthan development in many sectors with initiatives such as smart cities and highways in urban infrastructure Make in India: Skilling Rajasthan, leveraging tourism for sustainable development, auto sector, healthcare, agriculture etc.