The government of India has so far transferred the environment clearance (EC) of 19 coal blocks out of a total of 29 approved mines from the previous allottees to new successful bidders including some cement producers.

In a bid to expedite operations from the recently allocated coal mines, the Environment Ministry had amended EC norms after a request made by the Coal Ministry to facilitate the transfer of ECs to successful coal bidders.

"We have so far transferred the ECs of 19 coal blocks to new allottees. We have already issued the transferred letters," a senior Environment Ministry official told PTI. The 19 coal blocks are located in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. These blocks have a combined coal production capacity of over 22Mta, the official added.

So far this month, the Ministry has transferred the ECs of six blocks from earlier allottees to cement producers Jaypee Cement and Ambuja Cements, as well as firms from other industries including JSW Steel, GMR Chhattisgarh, Araanya Mines Pvt and Bharat Aluminium Co.