Nineteen out of the 38 mines put under the commercial coal mine auction have been successfully auctioned off, said Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday.
The Union Minister for Coal was speaking at a press conference on the day when the commercial bidding is concluding.
"Financial bidding will conclude today. We have successfully auctioned 19 mines of which 11 are open cast, five are underground and three are mixed," Joshi said.
He said after consultation and listening to grievances of the states some mines were removed while others were added to the list of those, which were to be auctioned.
"38 coal mines were put on auction. September 25 was the last day for the purchase of tender documents and September 29 was the due date for the tender bid. A total of 76 bids were received for 23 mines, of which 19 mines received 2 or more bids. This is a very good response," he said and added that a success rate of 50 per cent was very satisfactory.
The minister also said India has one of the largest reserves, yet it is one of the largest importers of coal, keeping which in mind the Prime Minister had directed to bring in reforms in the sector.
"Commercial coal mining will unlock the resources of the nation, this is what he (PM) said on that day and today I can say we have crossed an important milestone," he said.
Joshi also said these mines were mainly located in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
( With inputs from ANI )
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