Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015
The Statutory Response
Following the cancellation of allocations, Parliament enacted a dedicated law to enable swift, transparent reallocation of the cancelled coal blocks through competitive e-auction, replacing the discretionary Screening Committee route with a statutory bidding mechanism.
- The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 was enacted to allow reallocation of the cancelled blocks via auction or allotment, and to provide compensation to prior allottees for land and infrastructure already developed
- Cancelled mines were classified as "Schedule I" coal mines; among these, mines that were already producing or ready to produce coal were further classified as "Schedule II" mines, with auctions for Schedule II and III mines restricted to specified end-use sectors such as power, steel, and cement
- The Act empowers the Central Government to appoint a "Nominated Authority" (an officer of at least Joint Secretary rank) to conduct the auction and manage the vesting and transfer of mining rights to successful bidders
- This reform fed into the broader shift toward competitive, price-discovery-based allocation of natural resources in India, paralleling similar auction-based reforms in spectrum and mineral block allocation
● Tracked since February 24, 2026 · last seen July 29, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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