The Indian government has so far allocated 75 coal mines for specified end uses, according to Piyush Goyal, Minister for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines. Of these, 31 were allocated through e-auction and 44 through allotment.
The allocation of the mines took place under the provisions of the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act of 2015, which was passed in the wake of the Indian Supreme Court decision that nullified the allocation of 214 coal blocks to end users.
The act aimed to ensure continuity of coal mining operations and promote the optimum utilisation of coal resources.
Goyal provided the information in response to a question from the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
