NEW DELHI | Nov 28, 2016: The auction of coal mines is yielding handsome returns for majority of states endowed with black diamond deposits. The 83 mines that were auctioned to commercial entities or allotted to state utilities through the government route have so far generated revenue of Rs 2,779 crore so far, excluding royalty, cess and taxes.
This money is being transferred to states, coal, power, mines and renewable energy minister Piyush Goyal told the Rajya Sabha in written reply to separate questions on Monday.
He said blocks were earlier allotted through the screening committee route and did not result in any earning for the Centre. The Centre has held three rounds of coal mine auctions after the Supreme Court in 2014 cancelled the allotment of 204 coal blocks.
The fourth round auction, specifically for non-regulated sectors such as steel and cement was cancelled in view of a sharp decline in the price of Coal India's output sold through e-auction and international rates for non-coking coal.
The state governments will get upfront payment prescribed in auction norms and royalty on per tonne of coal produced from respective blocks in their states.
Royalty rates, levied as a per cent of the sale price, were last revised to 14% in October 2012, except for Bengal. Coal from the state's mines attract royalty at a fixed per-tonne rate that varies according to the grade of fuel produced. Royalty on lignite stands at 6%.
Mining operations have commenced or mine opening permission granted in 10 out of the 17 Schedule II coal mines, which were operational before cancellation of their allotment, that were auctioned under the provisions of the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act 2015. In addition, one Schedule III coal mine is also operational.
Since commencement of mining operations, 9.56 million tonnes of coal has been produced from these coal mines.
Rest of the Schedule II coal mines are in the process of beginning operation after obtaining statutory clearances as well as appointment of mining contractor. Almost all clearances at the level of the Central government have been granted for commencement of mining operations.
(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)