Question : IRREGULARITIES IN SALE OF COAL

(a) whether the Government have received complaints against the Central Coalfields Limited recently regarding irregularities and bringing in the sale of coal to the industrial units/power plants;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) the number of such cases handed over to the Vigilance/Central Bureau of Investigation during the last five years and the number of cases out of these investigated so far; and

(d) the details of the initiatives taken/proposed to be taken for effective sale/marketing of coal, abolishing the premium and to check the black-marketing of coal due to the imbalance between the demand and supply?

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINES AND MINERALS

(SMT. RITA VERMA)

(a) No such complaints have been received in the recent past.

(b) and (c) Do not arise in view of reply to (a) above.

(d) After total deregulation of coal distribution and price w.e.f. January 2000 the policy for sale of coal is being worked out to ensure more direct interaction with the consumers, simplification of system and procedures, supply of coal based on past trend in order of booking by individual consumer and making sizeable quantity of coal available under open sales scheme. Marketing system of Coal India Limited is being made transparent and consumer friendly.