Minister of State for Mines Prafulla Mallick wrote a letter to the Union Minister of Mines. The letter requested that the coal block auction be adjourned for three months

 Minister of State for Mines Prafulla Mallick wrote a letter to the Union Minister of Mines.  The letter requested that the coal block auction be adjourned for three months

State Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Mallick has written to the Center to suspend the coal block auction process for three months.  The coal mining auction in the state should be suspended for three months.  Minister of State for Steel, Mines and Public Works Shri Prafulla Mallick has written to the Union Minister for Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs.

 Of the 14 coal blocks identified by the Center, 9 are in Odisha.  A total of 10,750 million tonnes of coal was estimated to be in the four coal blocks.  As per the revised schedule of the Center, the deadline for submission of bids is September 29, 2020, while the deadline for completing the e-auction process is October 29 to November 9, 2020.

 Now the base of the mineral trade for the Covid epidemic has been affected.  In addition, the market price of coal has been significantly lower than last year.  If the coal block is auctioned in such a situation, the maximum auction call is likely to be considerably reduced.  The letter said the lease would last for 30 years and would have a significant impact on the state's coal revenue.

 Minister Mallick also wrote a letter urging the Center to move the auction process to three months.  Mr. Mallick has written to Union Minister Prahlad Yoshi to start the auction process after the situation in Covid improves and the market is favorable.