New Delhi: Union Coal and Power minister Piyush Goyal today assured Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that he would see to it that the State gets maximum revenue out of coal auction.
Goel met Patnaik at Odisha Bhawan here this afternoon. After the meeting, Patnaik told mediapersons, “The Union minister said he would address the concerns of Odisha and assured to see that the State gets the maximum revenue (out of coal auction).”
Sources said the two leaders also discussed about coal block allocation to non-regulated sectors like cement, aluminium, steel manufacturers and their captive power plants.
Notably, on Feb 27, the chief minister had written to prime minister Narendra Modi to re-examine and earmark more coal mines for auction for the non-regulated sector.
“I request you to have the process of earmarking of coal mines re-examined and earmark more coal mines for auction for the non-regulated sector,” Patnaik had written to Modi.
“While Odisha has about a quarter of the country’s coal reserves, out of the revenue of more than Rs 1 lakh crore from the coal blocks auctioned till now, the share of Odisha is expected to be less than 1 per cent,” the CM had pointed out in his letter.