Lok Sabha Question No. 4018 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-08-10
Subject: Auction of Mineral Blocks
Ministry: MINES
Asked by: A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF MINES

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4018 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.08.2017

## AUCTION OF MINERAL BLOCKS

## 4018.  SHRI A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN :

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

- (a) Whether  it  is  true  that  the  Government  has  auctioned  about  21  mining  leases  and  these mineral blocks have a cumulative resource value of around Rs.94,000 crore and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) Whether  it  is  also  true  that  the  Government  has  already  facilitated  the  auction  process extending support from IBM, GSI and various PSUs such as MSTC, MECON, MECL and SBICAP and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) Whether Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha are among the States preparing for auction of mineral blocks like iron ore, limestone and bauxite and in the next financial year and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  (INDEPENDENT  CHARGE)  FOR  POWER,  COAL,  NEW  & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND MINES (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) A total  of  21  mineral  blocks  with  an  estimated  value  of  resources  of  Rs.93,190  crores have been auctioned till 31.03.2017. In the current financial year, so far, 8 more mineral blocks have been auctioned. As on date, 29 mineral blocks with an estimated total value of resources of Rs. 1,56,746 crores have been successfully auctioned in States of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan.

(b) Yes Sir. The Ministry of Mines has provided handholding support to State Governments to facilitate auction process with the support of IBM, MECL, MSTC, MECON and SBICAPS etc.    The  Ministry  signed  a  contract  with  SBI  Capital  Markets  Limited  (SBICAPS)  on 04.02.2015  for  transaction  advisory  services  regarding  development  of  procedural  and  legal framework for enabling implementation of the provisions of MMDR (Amendment) Act, 2015. Further,  the  Ministry  of  Mines  signed  an  MOU  with  MSTC  on  19.02.2016  for  providing  eauction services including an online platform for conduct of e-auction. Ministry of Mines also signed a contract with MECON on 31.03.2016 for transaction advisory services which included preparation  of  State  specific  and  block  specific  bid  documents,  assistance  to  the  tender evaluation committee of the State Government and for DGPS survey  and total station surveys which included preparing and submitting geo-referenced maps.

- (c) Yes  sir.  The  list  of  mineral  blocks  proposed  for  e-auction  in  the  States  of  Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha as per the information provided by the respective State Governments is given in the following table.

|   S.No. | State        | Name of the mineral(s) to be auctioned            | No. of blocks proposed for auction   |
|---------|--------------|---------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
|       1 | Jharkhand    | Gold, Limestone, Graphite, Emerald, Iron, Bauxite | 9 Blocks                             |
|       2 | Chhattisgarh | Bauxite, Limestone                                | 11 Blocks                            |
|       3 | Odisha       | Iron Ore, Graphite, Limestone                     | 7 Blocks                             |

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