The central government has repealed the fifth round of coal mines auction. The government rendered its coal mines auction invalid, terminating the tenders for all its six mines, after recording a poor response from the bidders.
In a notice to the bidders, the government said "the tender process for the coal mines being auctioned under 5th tranche of auction of coal mine has been terminated in accordance with Clause 3.3.2(b) of the tender document".
According to various reports, the coal blocks auction was annulled in the light of slumped growth in the steel industry that consequentially dampened the response from bidders.
The six coal mines put up for auction in the fifth round consisted, Brahmadih, Choritand Tiliaya, Jogeshwar and Khas Jogeshwar, Rabodih OCP and Rohne in Jharkhand, and Urtan North in Madhya Pradesh.
In December 2015, the government had also repealed the fourth tranche of coal mine auctions which was planned for January 2016 on the account of slumped response from bidders, low commodity prices and unfavourable market conditions.