Odisha Govt Cancels Auction Of 20 Mining Leases, To Invite Fresh Bids

Bhubaneswar: The State government on Monday announced to cancel the auction process of 20 operational mineral blocks initiated via Notice Inviting Tenders (NITs) in October this year and has asked the Director of Mines decided to conduct a fresh auction of the leases with a few added conditions.

The Steel and Mines Department of the State government issued a notice saying a decision has been taken to annul the auction process of 20 mining blocks which was initiated via notice inviting tenders (NITs) dated October 4, 14 and 18 following a meetings of the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) and High Level Committee (HLC).

Besides, it has directed the Director of Mines to begin the process for a fresh auction of the leases from December 6, 2019.

Even though the State government has not clarified any reasons for cancellation of the mining blocks, as per an official notification, the fresh notice for auction would be issued on December 6, while the technical bid will be opened January 4 next year. The State government hopes to complete the process by February 2020.

With some amendments in the tender documents, the government has made it clear that, 'A bidder shall submit only one bid for a particular mineral block. In case a bidder submits more than one bid for a particular block, either directly or indirectly through its affiliates, all such bids submitted by the bidder and its affiliates will be rejected.

Duration of the mentioned 20 mining leases will expire on March 31, 2020.

#Odisha government annuls auction process of 20 mining leases initiated via Notice Inviting Tenders (NITs) dated October 4, 14 & 18; directs Director of Mines to begin the process for fresh auction of the leases from December 6, 2019 pic.twitter.com/6kmSpkoVsq

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