Odisha issues fresh notification for auction of 20 mines

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government today issued a fresh notification for auction of as many as 20 mines in the state, whose lease period would expire on March 31, 2020. The last date for sale of tender document is December 30 while the last date for submission of the bid is January 3.

Identifying errors in its earlier notices for auction of 20 iron ore and manganese mines, the State Government had decided to annul a previous bidding process and go for a fresh one. The Directorate of Mines had received bids from 177 companies for the auction of 20 mining blocks.

“It was detected that apart from subsidiary companies, the holding companies had also applied for the bidding in gross violation of the Mining Tender Act,” Director of Mines Dipak Mohanty said.

Taking note of this unfair bidding, the government felt that a fair auction process could not be ensured as the price and premium discovery couldn’t be determined, he said. The tender process will be completed by March 31 next year, he added.

(with PTI inputs)