The government is at an advance stage of creating the infrastructure needed for the much- awaited e-auction of coal blocks which were deallocated following a Supreme Court order last month.
Talks are being held with mjunction Services Ltd, MSTC Ltd, the two existing coal e-auction service providers to Coal India, as well as some other reputed IT companies for the development of e-auction platform, sources said.
The government is moving "very fast" on the development of the auction process but at the same time promising a transparent process to execute the auctions on an e-platform.
"The e-auction would roll out very fast. The government knows that the basis of resolving this problem is to auction as far as possible. Some work has already been done, and rest assured it would be a successful model which will be very comprehensive," Coal Secretary S K Srivastava said.
Both mjunction as well as MSTC are Kolkata-based e-auction service providers, and reason for the government reaching out to them is the apparent credibility that they possess.
While mjunction is an equal joint venture between Tata Steel and SAIL Ltd, MSTC is fully owned by the government.
Apart from reaching out to the service providers, the coal ministry is also collecting necessary data from the prior allottees regarding the status of the mines, inventory of the infrastructure set up, investment put in, and also details of the people working at each of the mines.
Till date the government has sent two set of letters to the prior allottees; one to those who are either delaying or refusing to share the data about the mines which were being taken back, while the second letter is about compensation payable to the prior allottes for the investments on land and infrastructure made by them till March 2014.
"Letters have already been issued to the coal block allottees to give the details of the assets. The Ordinance also provides for issues where companies are delaying or refusing to share information, i.e, if there is delay in furnishing the information, what would be the penalties," Srivastava said at the sidelines of an event to launch a pilot project for computerised provident fund accounts for coal mine workers.
Information sought from the prior allottes are required to be submitted within 15 days from the date of notification of The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance, failing which it would be assumed that the parties haven't made any investments in the allotted mines.
Asked whether deallocation would strain Coal India further as the affected companies would again go back to the already stretched public sector miner for coal linkages, Srivastava said such issues, which were brought about due to circumstances, external and internal, are being resolved.
The provision for government dispensation would also come as a comfort, he said.
"The Ordinance not only provides for auction, it provides for government dispensation route also. And we have clarified in the Ordinances about whatever reservations the Supreme Court had."
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}