Odisha Asks Centre to Suspend Coal Block Auction Process for 3 Months

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government has asked the Centre to defer coal block auction process for three months as the coal sector has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Odisha Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Kumar Mallik wrote to Union Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi in this regard.
The Odisha Steel and Mines Minister sought suspension of coal block auction process for three months and requested the Union Minister to start the allocation process when there is an improvement in COVID-19 pandemic situation and market becomes suitable.

Since the pandemic has affected minerals trade, the price of coal has dropped significantly this year as compared to last year, Mallik said.

If the coal block auction is held in this scenario, the government might not be able to get the better price of the natural mineral resource, he said.

The lease period of coal blocks is 30 years and a poor response to the auction will affect the State’s coal revenue, the letter stated.
Notably, Out of 41 coal blocks identified by the Centre for auction, nine are located in Odisha with storage capacity of 10,750 million tons of coal.

According to the revised schedule issued by the Centre, the last date for submission of the bid is September 29, 2020 whereas the e-auction will be held from October 19 to November 9, 2020.