High Level Inter-Ministerial Committee Constituted for Smooth Allocation of Coal Blocks
High Level Inter-Ministerial Committee Constituted for Smooth Allocation of Coal Blocks
On 12th November, the Union Government constituted a high level Inter-Ministerial Committee for smooth and efficient allocation of 204 cancelled coal blocks. Advise on the policy issues and matters for the interaction with the industry will also be other areas of expertise of this committee.
The 9 member committee is headed by the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Coal. Other members will include as follows.
• The Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Coal.
• Advisor (Projects) of the Ministry of Coal.
• Representative for the Ministry of Steel
• Representative for the Ministry of Power
• Representative of the Ministry of Legal Affairs (Within the Ministry of Law and Justice)
• Representative of Ministry of Industrial Policy and Promotion ( from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry)
• Representative of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (from Ministry if Finance.
The Member Convener for the Committee is the Director (CA-III) within the Ministry of Coal.
The committee will also interact with industry chambers and coal producers as well as steel manufacturer associations for gaining viewpoints regarding procedure as well as methodology of auction of coal block. Any other issue connected with coal block allocations will also be referred by the Union Ministry of Coal to the committee.
According to Business Standard, an official statement said “the nominated authority created under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2014 is required to undertake management and reallocation of 204 coal blocks cancelled by the Supreme Court.” It also added that "In discharge of duties, the Nominated Authority is required to consult Central Government on various policy matters."
It further stipulated "The policy issues, which may come up for consideration and directions for the Central Government, would involve inputs of sectoral ministries namely power, steel and DIPP as well as concerned regulatory ministries viz. Finance (DEA), Law & Justice. Therefore it has been decided by the competent authority in this ministry to constitute an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC)."
Industry stakeholders as well as industry chambers such as FICCI, CII, Coal Producer Association, Steel Manufacturer Association and Cement Producers Association to name a few will be interacting with the IMC for views on coal block auctions. The IMC will also decide on the methodology for ascertaining reserve price for coal auction and seek cabinet approval for the same. The Cabinet will take the final call on fixing methodology for reserve price, according to sources quoted by the media.
