Kishan Reddy denies favouritism to Gujarat

The “most transparent” mode of auction was being followed since the launch of commercial mining on June 18, 2020, under which all coal and lignite blocks have been given through an auction route for the sale of coal and lignite, he said.

Hyderabad: Refuting IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao’s statement about preferential treatment for Gujarat in lignite block allocation, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy claimed that there was transparency in auctioning of coal mines as well.

The “most transparent” mode of auction was being followed since the launch of commercial mining on June 18, 2020, under which all coal and lignite blocks have been given through an auction route for the sale of coal and lignite, he said.

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Two lignite blocks, Bharkandam Lignite and Panandhro Extension Lignite, were allotted to the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Limited (GMDC) in 2015, while three coal blocks — Pengadappa in Telangana, and Naini and New Patrapara in Odisha — were allotted to the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) from 2015-2019, he said.

Of the three, the Pengadappa and New Patrapara coal blocks were surrendered by the company under the amnesty scheme of the Central government, wherein penalties for the surrender of coal mines by PSUs was waived by the Centre, Kishan Reddy claimed. He further alleged that the Naini block allotted to SCCL in 2015 was not operationalised by the State government, despite the Centre facilitated obtaining all clearances.