Mineral block auctions delayed
The New Indian Express || 04 April 2019
Fate of around 230 mineral blocks for which leases run out in March 2020 remain uncertain with auctions put on hold until the polls are over
With elections just around the corner, the fate of about 230 mineral blocks for which leases run out in March 2020 remain uncertain with auctions having been put on hold until the polls are done. The central government had planned to auction off about a 100 of these by the end of March, but a lack of bidders, regulatory hurdles at the state level and legal issues have played spoilsport.
Now, officials say, auctions will be held only after polling for the Lok Sabha elections ends in May, raising concerns on whether the process would be completed before the leases run out next year. According to a report from the Ministry of Mines, Jharkhand is set to see the highest number of blocks going under the hammer at 20, followed by states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana and Assam. Read more