Government recently said that auction of 54 coal blocks would not be possible this year because of the long process involved in it.

Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal Coal Minister said "It (the allocation of coal mines through competitive bidding route) would not be possible this year. Our government believes in transparency. All the coal blocks (to be allocated through auction route) were identified."

He also said that once Crisil submits its report on the methodology to determine the reserve price for auction of 54 mines the ministry has identified for allocation the bidding process would begin.

Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal said "The Coal Ministry will ensure that that there is no lacunae in any process."

The Minister's statement comes in the context of a CAG report estimating a huge gain of INR 1.86 lakh crore to private firms in allocation of 57 coal blocks, disrupting Parliament for the fourth consecutive day.

On the day on which the CAG report was tabled in the Parliament last week, the minister had told reporters that the process of allocation of coal blocks through auction route would begin soon.

Source - moneycontrol

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