Govt brings Bill in LS to auction coal mines
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 10
The government today introduced in Lok Sabha the Coal Mines Special Provisions Bill, 2014, to replace the ordinance it earlier enacted for re-allocation of coal blocks the Supreme Court cancelled on grounds of illegality.
The Bill provides for the allocation of coal blocks through auction route and caps payment fees per block at Rs 5 crore. The Supreme Court had on September 24, 2014, cancelled the allocation of 204 coal blocks out of 218 done since 1993 through government dispensation and screening committee, terming the auctions as “arbitrary” and without the transparency of auction.
Introducing the Bill, Coal Minister Piyush Goyal today said the government had, in the wake of SC’s cancellations, brought the ordinance to ensure energy needs of the country were met. The Ordinance amended two existing coal mine allocation laws to re-allot the cancelled mines.
The new Bill seeks to make not just government companies and corporations, but also private companies or a joint venture company formed by two or more firms eligible for auctions. A company would mean any company registered under the Companies Act.
Besides, the Bill also seeks to remove restrictions of end use of mined coal from the eligibility criteria to undertake coal mining. The Congress and the Trinamool Congress want Bill to be referred to the parliamentary standing committee for greater deliberations.
