By IANS,
New Delhi : The inter-ministerial panel on coal block allocations to government companies Thursday issued pre-determined evaluation criteria that include taking into account allottees’ track record of developing the mines allocated.
“The Inter-Ministerial Committee constituted…to consider the applications received from the government companies has decided the…predetermined evaluation criteria for allotment of coal blocks for specified end use,” said a coal ministry document .
The criteria include, among others, progress in development of mines given in the past, the coal demand-supply gap of a state and the location of the plants ,
The coal ministry also said that it would shortly publish a notice inviting applications from government firms for the blocks.
The inter-ministerial panel met for the first time last week to discuss the mechanism for allotting coal mines to public sector companies.
The 14-member panel, headed by Coal Secretary S. K. Srivastava, has representatives from the power, steel, and law ministries and the Planning Commission.
In May the coal ministry had identified 54 mines for allocation, of which 16 are earmarked for the public sector, 16 for the power sector and 22 for allocation through the auction route.