Coal news and updates

Govt concerned about quality of coal supplied by CIL

January 19: The government is concerned about the quality of coal supplied by Coal India Ltd (CIL) to its customers and has urged consumers to use the system of third party sampling to the fullest to get proper quality, Secretary (Coal) Anil Swarup has said.

Speaking in Kolkata on January 16 evening at an interactive session organised by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce, Swarup said, ”We are also extremely concerned about the quality of coal supplied by CIL.”

He, however, said independent agencies have been identified and accredited to ensure supply of better quality of coal to consumers.

“My request would be to those who are using Coal India’s coal is to please access those agencies, get the sample test done and put these reports on the portals so that we also get to know where we or Coal India is going wrong,” Swarup said.

Incidentally, third party independent sampling was started in 2013 for consumers, mainly the power sector, which procures more than 400,000 tons of coal annually.

“Our intention is very clear. We want to improve the quality of coal and you should be paying for only the quality that you get. I know this will not be easy as it is tough to happen, but a beginning has been made and I am sure with your co-operation we should be able to take it forward,” the secretary (coal) said.