According to a statement issued by the Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Minister Piyush Goyal, the government auctioned 29 minerals blocks with resources valued at about Rs 1.56 lakh crore in nine states so far and 27 more will be put under the hammer very shortly. The blocks have been successfully auctioned in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan. Besides, another 27 mineral blocks will be put under auction in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, where they will be auctioned soon. Of the 29 blocks, 21 mines with an estimated value of resources of Rs 0.93 lakh crore were auctioned till this year. The minister said the mines ministry has provided hand-holding support to state governments to facilitate auction process with the support of IBM, MECL, MSTC, MECON and SBI Caps.
