KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – India’s Coal Ministry is working out the contours of a policy intervention to ensure rapid operationalisation of coal blocks to be put up for auction over the next few months.

Ministry officials said that consultations had already been held with various coal sector stakeholders, including governments of coal-bearing states, to address issues leading to delays in getting coal blocks into production and these had centered on the necessity of tweaking policies to reduce the gestation periods for operationalisation of coal blocks allotted through the auction route.

Among the measures being considered for implementation was opening up a “single window” for securing all mandatory clearances from state and central governments. The Coal Ministry favoured the present sequence of securing all mandatory approvals from the central government before the state government could execute a mining lease.

The Ministry has sought that state governments simplify the rules and open up a window for the automatic granting of a mining lease immediately on bagging a block at the auctions, with central approvals secured post facto.

The planned policy intervention is significant, considering the undertaking of an auction process for the allocation of 27 coal blocks to private miners and that another 15 coal blocks will be allotted under the preferential allotment dispensation by central and state government.

At the same time, the Coal Ministry has commenced identification of additional coal blocks which could be put up for auction before December, exclusively for commercial coal mining by private domestic miners as well as international resource majors.

This comes close on the heels of the Indian government opening up commercial coal mining for international miners through 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) and thereby enabling global majors to bid and execute coal mining projects through wholly owned Indian subsidiaries.

“Hundred per cent commercial coal mining has been permitted. We will roll it out by December 2019. We will invite global players and this 100% FDI will lead to more investors in coal mining and the introduction of better technology,” Coal and Mines Minister Prahlad Joshi says.