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Bhubaneswar, June 18: Union coal secretary Anil Swarup caught everyone by surprise Thursday by saying that Orissa would get around Rs 45,000crore from coal auctions in the next 25-30 years.
Earlier, Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and other senior BJP leaders had said that the state would get around
`2 lakh crore from these auctions in the next 15-20 years.
“If all the coal mines in the state are explored, the state would get an estimated Rs 45,000 crore in the next 25-30 years. This figure was determined by taking into account the recent coal auction,” Swarup said after reviewing 11 coal projects of Mahanadi Coal Fields Ltd (MCL).
“If there is more reserve of coal, the state would get more revenue. It all depends on the stock or reserve of minerals in the mines,” he said.
Swarup also said that the Centre has not rejected any proposal of the state government to allocate Chhendipada coal block to Orissa Thermal Power Corporation (OTPCL). “We have certain processes that need to be followed. We do not allocate blocks on the basis of letters,” he said.
“We do not want to repeat mistakes committed in the past. Very soon, we are going to announce the next lot of coal blocks. If the state government applies, we will consider,” Swarup said. The Centre would allocate coal blocks to state PSUs through the nomination route, he said.
Earlier, the state had demanded allocation of Chhendipada-I and Chhendipada-II coal blocks in favour of OTPCL for its 2,400MW capacity power plant in Dhenkanal district, but the government had claimed that the coal ministry has turned down the request.
The Union coal secretary said the coal production of MCL is expected to increase to 150million tonnes this year from 120 million tonne last year. The total production across the country was 494mt last year.
Swarup highlighted the rapid progress of the Jharsuguda-Barpalli railway line, which is one of the three principal railway lines in India being established primarily for transportation of coal from mining areas. The railway project is expected to be completed by June 2016.
Chief secretary GC Pati said the bottlenecks of 11 projects of MCL, including land acquisition, rehabilitation and forest clearance were discussed.