Coal Ministry is planning to seek surrender of undeveloped blocks and put them up for auctionThe Coal Ministry is mulling a plan where it would enable entities holding dry fuel blocks, to surrender them if they are not in a position to establish them due to technical concerns.
This will assist the government to fast track production from these surrendered reserves.This will be done by instantly putting up the given up reserves on auction for industrial mining.In addition to this, companies holding coal blocks which they are not able to develop, will be permitted to surrender them without paying any punitive damages after their proposals are scrutinised by a committee, the ministry has said.As per its agenda for the present financial year (2021-22) released last week, the ministry said that the strategy will be prepared soon.Apart from this policy, the Coal Ministry likewise plans to allow new allottees to offer up to half of the produced dry fuel, which they are left with after fulfilling their captive requirements.This will help the ministry satisfy the growing need for coal from power manufacturers throughout the nation, the ministry's program file said.Also this reward will encourage allottees to produce higher amount of coal and offer it commercially.Total domestic coal production saw a limited fall of around two percent in 2020-21 as the output was 716 million tonnes, compared to 730 million tonnes produced in 2019-20, according to the ministry's information.