Section 6 (3)(a) of the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 provides that the Central Government shall act through the Nominated Authority for the conduct of auction process and allotment with the assistance of experts. Accordingly, Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Ltd. (CMPDIL) assists the Nominated Authority for preparation of Mine Summaries and Mine Dossiers of the coal mines offered for auction. Nominated Authority has appointed a Transaction Adviser for providing assistance in conduct of auction process and preparation of Tender Document, Coal Mine Development & Production Agreements, conduct of Pre-bid conference, preparation of Vesting / Allotment Order, etc. MSTC Ltd. has been appointed for conduction e-auction of coal mines.

Rule 6 of the CMSP Rules provides as under :-

“6. Experts.- (1) The nominated authority may appoint experts who are already on the panel of the following with respect to similar expert advisory as required by the nominated authority, namely:-

(a) any ministry or department of the Central Government; or

(b) any Central Government public sector enterprise or any statutory or autonomous organisation of the Central Government.

(2) The nominated authority may also appoint experts who are not on any panel after following the procedure specified by the Central Government.

(3) The nominated authority may in its discretion use quality based selection or selection by direct negotiations for appointment of experts, as specified in the Manual of Policies and Procedure of Employment of Consultants, dated the 31st August, 2006, issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure.