Lok Sabha Question No. 2873 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-08-06
Subject: Supply of Inferior Quality of Coal
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: K. ASHOK KUMAR

**GOVERNMENT OF INDIA**

**MINISTRY OF COAL**

**LOK SABHA**

**UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2873**

**TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.08.2015**

**“Supply of Inferior Quality of Coal”.**

**2873. SHRI K. ASHOK KUMAR:**

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has received any complaints from the consumers regarding the supply of inferior quality and less quantity of coal;

(b) if so, the details of complaints received during each of the last three years and the current year; and

(c) the action taken by the Government in this regard?

**ANSWER**

**MINISTER OF STATE (I/C) IN THE MINISTRY OF COAL, POWER AND NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY**

**(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL )**

**(a)to(c):** As per  the information  received from Central Electricity Authority (CEA) some Power Utilities i.e., Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL), National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC), Madhya Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited (MPPGCL), Maharashtra State Power Generation Corporation Limited (MSPGCL), Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL) have informed from  time to time on grade slippage as well as inferior quality of coal comprising big size coal, stones/boulders etc. from coal companies of  Coal India Limited (CIL).

As per information received from CIL, the subsidiary coal companies of CIL are supplying the requisite quality and quantity of coal to all power stations under Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA).  In terms of FSA, Joint Sampling/ Third Party Sampling and analysis facilities at loading ends are provided to the power utilities for assessment of quality of coal jointly by the buyer and the seller and payment is made by the buyers as per the quality of coal so assessed and thereby loading of proper quality coal to the power plants is ensured and taken care of.  All other FSA holders, having annual contractual quantity of 4 lakh tonne and above per annum are also provided with the same facility of Joint Sampling/ Third Party Sampling at loading end.

As coal is heterogeneous in nature, some naturally occurring extraneous material may go along with the raw coal being supplied for which provision for stone compensation is there in the FSA. The subsidiary coal companies of CIL are also putting their best efforts to segregate / remove the foreign bodies present in the coal seams.

The inherent ash content in coal seams cannot be ruled out. This is due to unique geo-mining factors of coal seams in India. However, to reduce ash content / oversized coal and coal mixed with some stone/boulders / impurities present in the coal, supplies to various power stations and other industries and to improve the quality of coal, CIL and its subsidiaries are adopting new technologies such as Selective Mining, Surface Miners and System of Clean Coal Technology etc.

CIL has adopted the following steps to improve the quality of coal:-

i)	 Selective mining by Surface Miner in opencast mine and Continuous Miner in underground mine for elimination of bands wherever necessary /feasible.

ii)	Appropriate positioning of OB and coal benches to avoid contamination.

iii)	Scrapping/cleaning of coal benches before blasting.

iv)	Installation of metal detectors / magnetic separators over running conveyors before coal loading.

v)	Crushing arrangement are also provided for supply of sized coal for better consumer satisfaction

vi)	All the major projects having high capacity coal handling plants dispatch sized and uniform quality of coal to suit the requirement of the consumers.

vii)	Participation of consumer representative in Joint Sampling/ Third Party Sampling and analysis of coal with consumers, based on which consumers are provided with the facility of adjustment of payment against coal value.

viii)	Arrangement for awareness programmes / imparting training to the personnel involved in production of coal regarding importance of coal quality and need to improve and maintain the same during mining operations.

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