Coal India Ltd.

The government’s move to put 8.5 billion tonne (bt) coal reserves up for auction has reportedly enticed major interest from the top cash-rich energy public sector undertakings (PSUs), including Coal India and NTPC, vying to grab the natural resource.

These firms are drawn in by the Deocha Pachami block in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, which happens to be the country’s largest thermal coal block, with over 2 bt reserves. The block as on January 1,2013, was placed in the list of 17 acreages offered by the coal ministry. This was despite NMDC seeking the block’s allocation for the past three years, with the former also chalking out a Rs 10,000-crore plan to develop the block in a joint venture with Coal India (CIL). However, with the block being up for sale now, CIL, the world’s largest coal miner, wants to exploit the reserves alone.