New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday approved allocation of five coal blocks, including two to Birla Corporation and one to Vedanta, and said the mines will generate a revenue of Rs 17,136 crore for the government.

For the first time, the successful bidders shall have the flexibility to sell 25 per cent of the coal produce in open market.

"The ministry of coal, after a long gap of four years, has approved the allocation of five coal mines," the Coal Ministry said in a statement.

This was the result of the auction conducted by the Centre last month.

The ministry had initiated the auction process for 27 coal mines for non-regulated sectors previously.

Of the five mines, two were allocated to Birla Corporation Ltd and one each to Vedanta Ltd, Prakash Industries Ltd and Powerplus Traders Pvt Ltd.

The revenue of Rs 17,136 crore will be generated over a period of 30 years.

"...the successful bidders shall have the flexibility to sell 25 per cent coal produced in the open market. This will boost coal production in the country and reduce the dependence of industries on imported coal," the statement said.

It is also envisaged that this step will generate huge revenue for state governments, where the mines are located, in the form of upfront amount, royalties and other applicable taxes, it added.

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