The government on Monday said it has raised Rs 2 lakh crore through auction of mining rights and royalty from 30 blocks that have been bid out so far, breaching the Comptroller & Auditor General's estimated "notional loss" of Rs 1.86 lakh crore. 

 

Excluding the royalty, the government has mopped up Rs 1.76 lakh crore with 10 more blocks still to be bid out. 

 

While the proceeds of the auction will go to the states, the Centre is set to reap a windfall of over Rs 1 lakh crore by selling airwaves with the proceeds after 31 rounds of bidding hitting the Rs 94,000 crore mark. Telecom operators such as Bharti group's Sunil Mittal have indicated that the auction could result in marginal increase in tariffs. 

The government was forced to move to the auction route after two Supreme Court rulings that cancelled allocations following CAG reports that alleged massive irregularities in allotment of 2Gspectrum in 2007 and in the allotment of coal blocks.

While spectrum auctions began five years ago with 3G airwaves bid out first, the government has been forced to bid out coal blocks by March 31 to keep power and steel plants running. In all, 83 blocks are to be re-allotted, of which 40 are being bid out. Till Monday evening auctions had been completed for 30 blocks, while bidding was underway for the 31st. 

The government is estimating that following the auctions, and including royalty, Rs 15 lakh crore will flow to states such as Jharkhand, Odisha, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra over the next 30 years. 

Coal ministry also claimed gains of Rs 1 lakh by way of electricity tariff reduction — something that is being contested by several experts. The coal ministry's calculations are based on the argument that the zero bid for fuel will translate into gains by way of tariff reduction. But critics have argued that the ministry is not factoring in the fact that companies will load the auction price into the overall tariff. (Times of India)