As many as 71 mineral blocks have been identified for auction in the current fiscal and these include six blocks in Andhra Pradesh, 11 in Chhattisgarh, 12 in Gujarat, 9 in Jharkhand, apart from these, 18 blocks are in Maharashtra, 7 in Odisha, and 8 in Rajasthan, said the Mines Ministry in a recent statement. Empowered Committee of the major mineral producing states under the chairmanship of Mines Secretary, Arun Kumar, held its meeting to deliberate on the preparedness for e-auction of mineral blocks for 2017-18. The secretary has asked the states to expedite and monitor the auctions, as recently a large number of leases have elapsed due to the section 10A(2)(c) of the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act 1957, which should now come up for auction route only. The auctions conducted so far will fetch Rs.85,250 crore to states, of which the additional contribution out of auction is Rs.67,501 crore over the licence period of 50 years. Just 4 states constitute 90% of this takeaway and other states need to expedite their mining auctions.
