He said that since the start of commercial mining on June 18, 2020, it has followed the “most transparent” auction model in which all coal and lignite blocks are sold via the auction route.
Post Date – 10:50 PM, Saturday – 12/10/22
Hyderabad: Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy refuted IT and Industry Minister KT Rama Rao’s statement on giving preferential treatment to Gujarat in lignite block allocation, claiming that the auction of coal mines was also transparent.
He said that since the start of commercial mining on June 18, 2020, it has followed the “most transparent” auction model in which all coal and lignite blocks are sold via the auction route.
In 2015, two lignite blocks, Bharkandam Lignite and Panandhro Extension Lignite, were allocated to Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Limited (GMDC), while three coal mining blocks – Pengadappa in Telangana and Naini and New Patrapara in Odisha – allocated to Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) from 2015 to 2019, he said.
Kishan Reddy claimed that of the three coal mining blocks, the Pengadappa and New Patrapara coal mining blocks were handed over by the company under the central government’s amnesty program which exempted the PSU from the penalty for handing over the coal mines. He further claimed that the Naini block was not allocated by the state government to SCCL in 2015 despite the Center’s assistance in obtaining all permits.
