New Delhi: The government on Monday said 136 coal blocks have been successfully auctioned since 2020 in line with Niti Aayog recommendations, and future allocations will also follow a participative bidding process.
Replying to supplementaries in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Coal Satish Chandra Dubey said the Centre is willing to examine the Telangana government’s request to allot the Tadicherla coal block on an administrative basis to state-owned Singareni Collieries, provided a fresh proposal is submitted. “The state government has to explain how this block is different from others. If such a proposal comes, the government will decide as per law and in the interest of the people of Telangana, keeping Niti Aayog’s recommendations in mind,” he said.
Dubey noted that Singareni itself has posted profits of around Rs 6,000 crore and questioned why it does not participate in auctions, as Coal India and other PSUs do. He added that while three blocks—Naini, Penagadapa and New Patrapada—were earlier allotted to Singareni, two were returned to the Centre in 2022, with only Naini currently operational.
Responding to queries from Telangana Congress MP Anil Kumar Yadav Mandadi, the minister said pro-posals submitted years ago need to be updated and will be examined afresh.
Dubey said auctions of 136 blocks post-2020 are expected to generate about Rs 43,000 crore in reve-nue once production begins and create employment for nearly five lakh people, with 44 new compa-nies participating. In a written reply, Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy said no coal block has been allotted to PSUs through the allotment route after June 2020, as all blocks are now offered through auctions, barring exceptional circumstances. Agencies