Coal Ministry issues vesting orders for 22 mines

The Ministry of Coal on Thursday issued vesting orders for 22 auctioned coal blocks, which are expected to attract a capital investment of Rs 7,929 crore. The mines are also expected to generate annual revenue of Rs 9,831 crore and generate around 71,467 direct and indirect job opportunities, the ministry said in a statement.

Additional Coal Secretary M Nagaraju, who is the Nominated Authority of the Ministry of Coal, issued vesting orders for 22 coal mines to successful bidders of coal blocks under commercial coal mine auction in the national capital, it said.

Out of the 22 coal mines, 11 mines are under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, and the rest comes under Mines & Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. A total of 16 coal mines are fully explored mines while six mines are partially explored ones, the ministry added.

The cumulative peak rated capacity (PRC) of 22 coal mines is 53 million tonne per annum (MTPA) and has approximately 6,379.78 million tonnes (MT) of geological reserves.

"These mines are expected to generate annual revenue of Rs 9,831 crore and will attract capital investment of Rs 7,929 crore. It will also provide employment to about 71,467 people both directly and indirectly," it said.

With the vesting of these 22 coal mines, the coal ministry had issued vesting orders for a total of 73 coal mines under commercial auctions to date with a cumulative PRC of 149.304 MTPA.

This will result in the generation of annual revenue of Rs 23,097.64 crore to the state governments and will generate employment opportunities for 2,01,847 people, both directly and indirectly, it said.