Coal block auction for steel, cement off on poor response

NEW DELHI: Tepid response from bidders amid depressed commodity prices and market conditions has forced the government to call off the fourth round of coal block auctions meant for deregulated industries such as steel and cement.
“We have not got sufficient number of bids to carry on with the coal block auctions. We have received 15 bids for nine blocks...so in view of this, we had to annul the process,” coal secretary Anil Swarup told reporters on Wednesday.
The auction was launched last month with nine blocks and bidding was to open on January 18. Swarup said the industries for which the mines were being offered have been impacted due to adverse market conditions.
“As of now it appears that demand or financial commitment that they have to make in terms of acquiring these mines... they may not be in a position to do so because of the general condition of the market,” he said.
He said the government would wait for the right time to resume the auction. “We will look at the market situation and offer again. Right now it appears that in general commodity prices are depressed so are the coal prices... companies that would have bid are not financially strong at this point of time.”
The previous three rounds of auction would generate proceeds of over Rs 3 lakh crore, to be realised over 30 years, for states where the mines are located.
The coal blocks, which were to be put under the hammer were Brahmapuri and Suliyari in Madhya Pradesh, Bundu and Gondulpura in Jharkhand, Gondkhari and Khappa & Extn in Maharashtra and Jaganathpur A and Jaganathpur B in West Bengal besides Bhaskarpara mine in Chhattisgarh.