NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s cabinet on Friday approved a policy that will let firms run by the federal or state governments surrender non-operational mines without penalty in a move that would allow the country to auction them off to help boost output.
Companies will be able to surrender the mines without forfeiting bank guarantees under a one-time three-month window, the government said in a statement.
More than 60% of the 73 coal mines allotted to state firms were non-operational as of December 2021, with 19 of those missing deadlines to start production.
“Delays were due to .. law and order issues, enhancement in the area of forest from what was declared earlier, resistance of landholders against land acquisition,” the government said.
(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; editing by Jason Neely)
