Lok Sabha Question No. 1840 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-08
Subject: Illegal Mining and Storage of Coal
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Uday Pratap Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1840 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.12.2021

## Illegal Mining and Storage of Coal

## 1840.   SHRI UDAY PRATAP SINGH:

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

- (a)       whether Government has conducted any assessment/inspection for illegal storage and mining of coal;
- (b)        if so, the details thereof State/UT-wise;
- (c)       whether Government has taken cognizance of illegal mining/ theft/ possession by coal mafia in the country particularly in the State of Madhya Pradesh and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d)        the  steps  taken/  being   taken  by  the  Government  to  monitor  the  activities  of  illegal mining of coal and to strengthen information system?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, COAL AND MINES (SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI )

- (a): During the course of coal production by Coal India Limited, all statutory provisions under various Acts, Rules and Regulations are observed for conducting various activities. As such, there is no illegal mining in the lease-hold areas of Coal India Limited. However, illegal mining  of  coal  is  reported  to  be  carried  out  mainly  from  abandoned  mines,  shallow  coal seams  situated  at  remote/isolated  places.  It  is  a  Law  &  Order  problem  which  is  a  State subject, hence primarily; falls under the domain of the State/District administration to take necessary  deterrent action to stop/curb illegal mining  of  coal. Surprise raids/checks/ inspection  are  conducted  by  security  personnel  as  well  as  jointly  with  law  and  order authorities of the concerned State Government.
- (b): First Information Reports (FIRs) are lodged whenever any incident of Illegal mining of coal comes to the notice of the coal companies.

Number of FIRs lodged in cases of Illegal mining of coal during 2020-21, company-wise and State-wise is given below:

(Provisional)

| Name of the CompanyState   | FIR lodged ( 2020-21)   |
|----------------------------|-------------------------|
| ECL WB                     | 12                      |
|                            | Jharkhand 1             |

|                    | Sub Total          |   13 |
|--------------------|--------------------|------|
| BCCL               | Jharkhand          |    0 |
|                    | WB                 |    0 |
|                    | Sub Total          |    0 |
| CCL                | Jharkhand          |    1 |
| NCL                | MP                 |    0 |
|                    | UP                 |    0 |
|                    | Sub Total          |    0 |
| WCL                | Maharashtra        |    0 |
|                    | MP                 |    0 |
|                    | Sub Total          |    0 |
| SECL               | MP                 |    0 |
|                    | Chattisgarh        |    0 |
|                    | Sub Total          |    0 |
| MCL                | Odisha             |    0 |
| NEC                | Assam              |    3 |
| Coal India Limited | Coal India Limited |   17 |

- (c): Theft/pilferage/illegal mining of coal are carried out stealthily and clandestinely. As per raids conducted by security personnel of CIL as well as joint raids with the law and order authorities  of  the  concerned  State  Government,  the  quantity  of  coal  recovered  and  its approximate  value  during  2020-21  in  the  state  of  Madhya  Pradesh  in  the  subsidiary companies of Coal India Limited are as under:

## Theft/Pilferage of coal

(Provisional)

| Co.    | 2020-21               | 2020-21          |
|--------|-----------------------|------------------|
| Co.    | Recovered (te)Approx. | Value (Rs. Lakh) |
| NCL MP | 86.25                 | 2.733            |
| WCL MP | 0.00                  | 0.000            |
| SECLMP | 0.00                  | 0.000            |

There  was  no  report  of  illegal  mining  in  the  state  of  Madhya  Pradesh  in  the  subsidiary companies of Coal India Limited during 2020-21.

- (d): Coal India Limited and its Subsidiaries have established e-surveillance such as CCTV Surveillance  and  GPS  based  VTS  System  to  check  coal  operation  in  command  areas  to strengthen information system. The subsidiary-wise details are as under:-

| Subsidiary company   | Total CCTV Cameras installed at - a) Vulnerable locations viz. Weighbridges, Sidings, Workshop, Offices & Stores. b) Coal Stocks Number of vehicles deployed with GPS based VTS System   |
|----------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| MCL                  | 844 2635                                                                                                                                                                                 |

| CCL   |   1602 |   3150 |
|-------|--------|--------|
| NCL   |    733 |    421 |
| WCL   |    600 |   1320 |
| BCCL  |    615 |    549 |
| ECL   |   1380 |    930 |
| SECL  |   1316 |   1152 |
| TOTAL |   7090 |  10157 |

Ministry  of  Coal  has  launched  a  web-based  application  called  Coal  Mines  Surveillance  & Management  System  (CMSMS)  along  with  Mobile  Application  'Khanan  Prahari'  in  July, 2018. This web-based application and mobile application was developed by Bhaskaracharya Institute  of  Space  Application  &  Geo-informatics  (BISAG),  Gandhi  Nagar,  Gujarat,  with inputs  from  CMPDI.  CMSMS  is  a  GIS  based  portal  in  which  any  citizen  can  report  an incident of illegal coal mining through Khanan Prahari Mobile Application and the location of the incident is shown on the GIS map. The Nodal Officers of CIL/State Governments then verify the incident and take suitable action on such cases. The satellite data is also used for monitoring of mining operations done by leaseholders to verify if it is within the leasehold boundaries. The report of CMSMS is regularly sent to Ministry of Coal and CVOs of all the subsidiary companies of CIL and Nodal Officers of CIL.

Also following steps are taken to check illegal mining of coal:

-  Concrete walls have been erected on the mouth of the abandoned mines to prevent access and illegal activities in these areas.
-  Surprise  raids/  checks  being  conducted  jointly  by  security  personnel  and  law  and order authorities of the concerned State Government.
-  Dumping of the overburden is being done on the outcrop zones.
-  Installation of check-posts at vulnerable points.
-  Training of existing security/ CISF personnel, refresher training and basic training of new recruits in security discipline for strengthening the security setup.
-  Maintaining close liaison with the State authorities.
-  Committee/  task  force  has  been  constituted  at  different  level  (block  level,  subdivisional  level,  district  level,  state  level)  in  some  subsidiaries  of  CIL  to  monitor different aspects of illegal mining.

****