Kickstarting the process of coal blocks allocation, the government has allocated 14 coal mines to Central and State public sector undertakings (PSUs), including four to NTPC.
“The Ministry of Coal has allocated 14 coal blocks for the power sector...Around 15 States and six Central PSUs have been allocated coal blocks,” an official release said.
Investment
The allocation of the blocks, having a geological reserve of 8,311 million tonnes (mt), will lead to an investment of more than Rs.1.60 lakh crore in the power sector, it said.
Of the four coal blocks allocated to NTPC, two are in Chhattisgarh and the remaining in Odisha. The blocks have reserves of 1,995 mt of coal.
Other PSUs which have been allocated mines include Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Ltd., Odisha Thermal Power Corp, Jammu & Kashmir State Power Dev Corp, Chhattisgarh State Power Gen Co Ltd, Andhra Pradesh Generation Co, Maharashtra State Power Generation Co, Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam and Punjab State Power Corp Ltd.