Failing to reach a consensus on joint sampling, Coal India has decided to engage the newly formed national laboratory Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR), Dhanbad, for neutral coal quality certification for supply to NTPC plants in the east.
“We have decided to seek the help of CIMFR for an independent quality certification for coal supplies to NTPC plants after power company officials discontinued participation in joint sampling,” Niladri Roy, Eastern Coalfields General Manager and Technical Secretary to Chairman told PTI.
“We hope that they will begin to offer their services soon,” he added.
This would be an interim arrangement till an agency was identified for third-party sampling, Roy said.
For the first few days after supply was resumed on April 4, joint sampling was carried out by CIL and NTPC officials, but their differences on the issue of quality failed to subside.
Coal India Chairman S. Narsing Rao had said by September 2013 an international agency for third-party sampling would be in place.
Both CIL and NTPC had agreed to third-party sampling at a joint meeting held recently in Delhi.
NTPC had alleged that Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) supplied coal mixed with boulders, stones and even dirt. The resolution of the issue came in the course of a meeting with Coal Secretary Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, CIL Chairman S. Narsing Rao and NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Arup Roy Choudhury.
The affected NTPC plants were Farraka and Kahelgaon and ECL had claimed that under-payment of coal had led to accumulated dues of close to Rs 1,000 crore.
ECL has said had they continued supplying Ranigunj coal, then the accretion of dues would have gone up to Rs 1,800 crore.
ECL had supplied 50 per cent of the contract quantity coal of Rajmahal in accordance with directions from the Ministry.
The CIL subsidiary had said it has to break fixed deposits to meet its expenses and for payment of salaries.