NEW DELHI: The auction for coal blocks began aggressively with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Cement bagging a block with a bid of Rs 1,402 per tonne, more than nine times the floor price of Rs 150, prompting the government to call it a grand success that would generate more revenue than the Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s ( CAG ’s) estimate of Rs 1.86 lakh crore lost by free distribution. GMR Energy won the Talabira -I coal block in Odisha with a very aggressive bid of Rs 478 per tonne. Adani Power, Essar Power, Sesa Sterlite, GMR Energy and OPG Power Generation were eyeing the Talabira-I block previously allotted to Hindalco. Industry experts say companies were desperate to ensure fuel for plants and had made unsustainable bids in the online auction that kicked-off on Saturday.Reliance Cement bagged the Sial Ghogri underground mine in Madhya Pradesh, beating Hindustan Zinc and OCL Iron & Steel for the block earlier held by Prism Cement. For the other mine on offer, Talabira-I in Odisha reserved for the power sector, bidders quoted four times higher than the Rs 100 per tonne reserve price, and said they would charge zero fuel cost in the power they generate. Government officials said the bidding revealed the profit margins of coal miners who earlier said the Rs 295 per tonne retrospective penalty imposed by the Supreme Court on September 24 would wipe out the industry.Coal minister Piyush Goyal said the auction process to prune 50% of qualified bidders after opening price bids resulted in aggressive bidding, paving the way for the operational mines to garner a higher revenue to state governments. He said the aggressive bidding would mean low power tariffs.