Coal news and updates

NTPC eyes lost coal blocks

But may face competition from state PSUs...


NTPC aims to win back the coal blocks it lost after the Supreme Court judgement last year, in the upcoming allotment of 36 blocks to public sector entities. But, this may not be easy, as it will face competition from State-level PSUs.

The company had six blocks allotted between 1993 and 2010. Of these, it was allowed to retain only the Pakri Barwadih block when the Supreme Court de-allocated 204 coal blocks in September 2014.

The remaining five blocks will be part of the 36 that are up for allotment to Central and State public sector entities. “Our priority is to get back the blocks that were de-allocated as investment had already gone in there,” an official source said.

NTPC had spent close to ₹2,000 crore on these blocks, which were at advanced stages of development as far as land acquisitions and mandatory regulatory approvals were concerned.

Four of the NTPC blocks that were de-allocated are in Jharkhand and one is in Odisha. In Jharkhand, Talaipali has 965 million tonnes of geological reserves, Kerandari has 229 million tonnes, Chatti Bariatu has 243 million tonnes and Chatti Bariatu South has 354 million tonnes.

In Odisha, the Dulanga block has 260 million tonnes of geological reserves.

Meanwhile, a senior Coal Ministry official said that the allotment process is expected to be completed by early March, with 25 blocks (producing and ready to produce) being allocated by February 23 and the remaining 11 by March 1.

This would mean that by March 1, NTPC could win back all the blocks it had to surrender.

Asked whether it is only NTPC that has shown interest in the allotment of coal blocks, the Coal Ministry official said: “It is not just NTPC; other entities have also approached us.”

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine