Ministry of Coal Clarifies Tara Coal Block Auction Process
The Ministry of Coal has issued a factual clarification regarding recent media reports about the auction of Tara coal block, stating that these reports contained misleading and incomplete information that failed to account for important developments between 2023 and 2026. The Ministry provides a detailed timeline of events to present the complete picture.
The Tara coal block was originally offered under the 7th Tranche of commercial coal mine auctions in 2023 but was subsequently withdrawn after the Ministry received a communication from the Government of Chhattisgarh requesting exclusion of coal blocks in the Hasdeo Arand area from commercial auctions. Accordingly, coal blocks in the Hasdeo Arand area that overlapped with the Lemru elephant corridor were not offered in subsequent auction tranches.
A significant development occurred on December 11, 2025, when the Government of Chhattisgarh sent a formal communication stating that the Tara coal block was outside the Lemru Elephant Corridor and should be included in upcoming auction tranches. Based on this approval, the revised Tara coal block was put up for auction in the 15th round of commercial coal mine auctions after CMPDIL removed the influence zone of the Lemru Elephant Corridor from the block boundaries.
The auction generated substantial market interest with 9 bids received for the block. The block was successfully auctioned at a revenue share of 37.50%, which is expected to generate annual revenue exceeding ₹1,200 crore for the state government and create employment for more than 8,000 people. The Ministry emphasizes that the block was only reconsidered for auction after explicit state government approval and technical boundary revisions addressed previous environmental concerns.