Lok Sabha passes coal mines bill

File photo shows trucks waiting to load coal at a mine in Ramgarh. The Lok Sabha on Friday passed a bill which provides for fresh auction of 204 coal blocks de-allocated by the Supreme Court. The government on Friday assured the Lok Sabha that Coal India Ltd., would not be denationalised. “We are in fact strengthening it,” said Union Minister of State for Coal Piyush Goyal while steering The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2014, through the Lower House with a voice vote.Though some Opposition parties made out a case for referring the Bill to the Departmental Standing Committee, their resistance to the draft legislation petered out by the time the discussion was wrapped up. The Opposition strategy appeared to be to force the Bill to a Select Committee in the Rajya Sabha, where it has