Coal reserves offered for future ultra mega power projects may well equal to those reserved for the government-promoted power companies.
NEW DELHI: Coal reserves offered for future ultra mega power projects may well equal to those reserved for the government-promoted power companies. The ministry of coal has identified 10 coal blocks to be put up for allocation for power projects under the government company dispensation route that means these reserves will be reserved for companies like NTPC and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC).
The blocks, with 6072.15 million tonnes (mt) of geological reserves in Talcher, North Karanpura, Rajmahal, and Ib Valley coalfields of Central Coalfields Ltd, Eastern Coalfields Ltd and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, will be available to the public sector companies.
A list of another 16 blocks with 6015.30 mt reserves has been sent to the power ministry for allocation for power projects to be set up on the basis of tariff-based competitive bidding, a senior coal ministry official said.
Besides the two categories, the third category of blocks is for power developers who wish to take charge of the coal blocks but are not part of the two categories.
They will need to apply to the coal ministry that will then put up the application to the screening committee, headed by coal secretary HC Gupta. Fifteen such blocks are estimated to have reserves of 3622.45 mt.
The official said the 41 blocks would be on offer later this month.
“The process for identification and marking of another 40 coal blocks for non-power users would also be soon completed,” he said.
The government has reserved Chatti Bariatu South in North Karanpura fields, Saharpur Jamarpani and Urma Paharitola in Rajmahal Gr fields, Manoharpur and Dipside Manoharpu in the Ib Valley, Naini, Chendipada, Chendipada II, Baitarni West and Mandakini B in Talcher, for public sector companies.
While three of these blocks are explored, six are in the second stage of regional exploration (reserves within about 10 km radius have been zeroed in upon). The remaining Baitarni West is the first stage of promotional exploration where seismic and other surveys have been conducted. Coal from most of these locations can be extracted through cheaper open cast mining.
The list of blocks for future ultra mega power projects include those in the Ib River, Talcher, North Karanpura, South Karanpura, Hasdeo-Anand and Wardha Valley.
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