New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) The coal ministry is identifying 15-20 blocks for the next - third - round of auction, but cannot give a deadline for completing the process for all 204 blocks whose allotments were annulled by the Supreme Court, Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.
"Fifteen to 20 coal blocks are being identified (for auction) and we are hopeful that the mining from these blocks could start soon," Goyal told reporters here after launching the ministry's coal project monitoring portal.
"I don't think that a timeline can be set for all 204 (blocks) because several of them are unexplored and several of them were alloted earlier based on irrational criteria. I would like to do the whole job very systematically," he added.
The government earlier this month completed the auction of 33 coal mines in two rounds.
On Tuesday, as per the privisions of the coal ordinance now made into law by parliament, the government allotted 37 mines to central and state-run power units, and one to the Steel Authority of India Ltd.
In a statement later, the coal ministry said that the "e-CPMP (online coal project monitoring portal) has been developed for tracking projects that entail an investment related to coal" and will "improve the communication between industries to government, government to government, or vice versa".
Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said the portal "marks a new beginning in the process towards making everything transparent in coal, so that nothing gets leaked".
The Delhi High Court had on Monday granted interim relief to Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. and restrained the central government from allocating to Coal India the two coal blocks - for which JSPL had emerged as the successful bidder in the recent round of auctions.
The ministry said last week it was "re-examining" nine winning bids out of the 33 coal blocks auctioned so far, on whether there were any price discrepancies in case of the nine winning bids, including those made by companies like Jindal Steel and Balco.
It was considering whether these bids were too low when compared with the winning bids for other similar blocks through an analytical tool called "outlier", which looks for unusual observations that are far removed from the mass of data.
Shikhar Dhawan: 'I was blocked from everywhere...', Shikhar Dhawan became emotional on the birthday of their son Zoravar, and said this
Indian cricket team's opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan is out of the team these days. Even away from cricket, Dhawan's life seems to be full of difficulties. However, in IPL he is the captain of Punjab
Saint Premanand's statement, which has created a ruckus, Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sangharsh Nyas has blown the trumpet of agitation
After the indecent comment made by Bhagwatcharya Aniruddhacharya on women, Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sangharsh Nyas has blown the bugle of agitation over the statement of Premanand Maharaj on women.
Radhika Yadav Murder: Why is Radhika's family not breaking their silence, are they hiding any big secret?
Seven days have passed since the murder of national tennis player Radhika Yadav. Even now, the family members are silent in front of the media. They do not want to talk to them or tell them anything.
Ukraine War: Putin had threatened to attack Britain before Ukraine, Boris Johnson said – threatened me on the phone
Boris Johnson's Claim on Putin Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made a big disclosure today. Johnson said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had threatened to fire missiles at me before
Compulsory army recruitment in Russia: One lakh recruits will be there to fight Ukraine, the rules have been made stricter by passing a new law in Parliament
After 15 days of the attack on Ukraine, now Russia's spirits have started to waver. Russia's army of about two and a half million, after two weeks, the army is also badly tired of fighting. Due to
BJP-Congress: Why is the Modi government being 'negligent' with the Law Commission, especially regarding UCC - Congress attacks
The Congress on Tuesday said the 22nd Law Commission ended without submitting its report on the Uniform Civil Code while the actual composition of the successor panel is yet to be announced, and asked
Inflation: Dealing with inflation, which has reached high levels for the last three quarters, test for India, impact on investment
There is no relief from the high inflation in the country for the last 9 months. This is having an impact on consumption and investment. RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Shashank Bhide
Ratan Tata Successor: Who will be the successor of Padma Vibhushan Ratan Tata, who will handle the empire of 3800 crores
Veteran industrialist and honorary head of Tata Sons Padma Vibhushan Ratan Tata passed away on Wednesday night. He was 86 years old. He breathed his last at Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital. If Ratan
Industry confused about guidelines
Major manufacturing companies have urged the Center to clarify the guidelines of the guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry and give some more relaxation in the rules. The new guidelines contain
Governor's three questions to Gehlot Government
Kalraj Mishra, the Governor of Rajasthan, has emerged as the judge of the political fortunes of the state Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Mishra took the full time to decide on the recommendation of the
