E-auction of Iron ore in Karnataka
Supreme Court (SC) vide its order 2nd September 2011 has appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to oversee E-auction of Iron ore from Karnataka. CEC in turn has formed a Monitoring Committee to carry out the order of SC. Monitoring Committee (MC) comprises of three members viz., Sri. H.R. Srinivasa, Director of Department of Mines & Geology (DMG) as Convener, Sri. Deepak Sarmah, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (APCCF) as Chairman and Dr. U. V. Singh, Chief Conservator of Forest as Member. For the purpose of auctioning M/s. MSTC have been identified to carry out e-auction through their portal.
Procedure for e-auction
Material ready for e-auction is identified by the Deputy Director of Mines & Geology (DDMG) Offices from the mines under their area of control. Fe content from the samples collected from the mines is provided to the laboratories functioning in DMG/DDMG offices. Material identified for e-auction is in multiples of 4000 MTs and with a identification number such lot no. These details are provided to MSTC a week before the date of auction so that the prospective buyers/bidders would be able to visit the mine heads and satisfy themselves about the quality of the ore. A day before the actual e-auction Fe content and Base price, arrived at by the Monitoring Committee based on market information, is advised to MSTC for uploading on their e-commerce platform (portal). Prospective buyers/bidders interested to bid in e-auction register themselves with MSTC well before the actual auction. Bidders are also expected to sign the Bid/Auction Document containing terms and conditions of the e-auction and submit along with EMD before participation in the bid process. Bid Documents duly signed by the prospective bidders are forwarded by MSTC to the MC for approval. Once the Bid Documents are approved by the MC, MSTC allows such applicants to participate in the e-auction. As soon as the auction is complete MSTC will be forwarding the EMD with a list of Successful Bidders to the MC, Sale Intimation to the Successful Bidders and Bid Sheet to the MC. MC will subsequently be issuing the Acceptance Letter to the Successful Bidders giving details of Lot No., Payment Details etc.,.
Successful Bidders are given time frame to make payment as per the Acceptance Letter. As and when the payments are received in full the Bulk Permits are generated by keying in all the details pertaining to the particular bid in the website/portal developed by DMG. Based on the bulk permits issued, the lease/mine holder will be generating the trip sheet by opening the website using his password. Simultaneously MC will be e-mailing the Scanned Bulk Permits to the concerned Forest/District/DDMG Authorities for smooth flow of material from the mine head to the buyers place.
