Auction at least six mineral blocks by June 30, Centre tells Telangana govt

Sources say, geological reports of eleven blocks have been handed over to the government of Telangana for auction

New Delhi: The Mines Ministry has flagged that the Telangana government failed to auction any mineral blocks in past nine years and asked the State to put at least six mines on sale by the end of this month.

According to sources, geological reports of eleven blocks have been handed over to the government of Telangana for auction. These blocks consist of five iron ore mines, five limestone blocks and one manganese block.

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Till date not even a single block has been put up for auction by Telangana even though the Mines Ministry has sent repeated reminders to the State government. The process of allocating mineral blocks through auctions began in 2015.

In a recent letter to the Telangana government, the Mines Ministry asked the State to notify a minimum of six blocks from the 11 for auction by June 30, sources said.

The Ministry warned that failure to do so will force the Centre to begin the auction process. As per the amendment in mining rules made in 2021, the Centre has the power to put on sale the mineral blocks in case a State government fails to auction the mines within the mutually agreed period.

Since the introduction of the auction regime, 354 major mineral blocks have been auctioned in the country. Of these 354 auctioned blocks, production has begun in 48 mineral blocks, amounting to significant increase in the revenue earnings to those States which have auctioned the mineral blocks, sources said.

Expeditious auction of the available mines will fully harness the mineral potential of the state for economic growth and welfare of the people as the revenue generated will accrue to the state government. Moreover, this will also create additional employment in the state, the sources added.