Question : Theft-Pilferage of Coal

(a) whether the incidents of theft and pilferage of coal have been reported at loading/unloading points, during transportation and at coal depots of Coal India Limited in the country;
(b) if so, the details of such incidents reported during each of the last three years and the current year along with the details of loss of coal and revenue as a result thereof, mine, company and State-wise;
(c) whether the Government has conducted any inquiries in this regard;
(d) if so, the outcome thereof along with the number of persons/officers found guilty during the said period and the action taken against them; and
(e) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to check such activities in future?

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF COAL,POWER, NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND MINES.

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a)to(e):Theft/pilferage of coal, if any, is carried out stealthily and clandestinely mainly from coal stockyard, railway siding/coal loading areas, loading/unloading points, etc. As such it is not possible to specify the exact quantum of coal stolen and losses incurred on account of theft/pilferage.

As per raids conducted by the security personnel as well as joint raids with the law & order authorities of the State Governmentsconcerned, the quantity of coal recovered and its approximate value during the last three years and the current year(upto May, 2016), year-wise, subsidiary-wise and State-wise, is given as under :

Name of the Company State 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 (upto May, 2016) (Provisional)
Qty. Recovered (te) Approx. Value
(Rs. in Lakh) Qty. Recovered (te) ApproxValue (Rs. in Lakh) Qty. Recovered (te) ApproxValue (Rs. in Lakh) Qty. Recovered (te) ApproxValue (Rs. in Lakh)
Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) West Bengal 1801.00 36.02 2229.60 44.64 4993.27 249.67 1491.34 74.57
Jharkhand 2068.00 41.36 2188.72 43.79 2645.78 132.32 750.62 37.53
Bharat Coking Coal Ltd(BCCL) Jharkhand 12212.86 497.60 13812.17 585.04 12071.40 529.67 2176.74 95.69
West Bengal 39.51 1.66 179.46 7.54 445.84 20.54 121.79 5.12
Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) Jharkhand 352.40 8.22 940.00 24.37 99.00 1.05 0.00 0.00
Western Coalfields Ltd(WCL) Maharashtra 61.81 0.94 133.36 2.79 53.00 1.12 45.80 1.20
Madhya Pradesh 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
South Eastern Coalfields Ltd(SECL) Madhya Pradesh 21.01 1.02 49.53 1.95 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Chhattisgarh 39.00 1.06 3.00 0.12 57.50 2.11 0.00 0.00
Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd(MCL) Odisha 33.23 0.33 74.30 0.72 63.10 0.63 22.60 0.03
North Eastern Coalfield (NEC) Assam 212.00 11.62 13.03 0.62 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.000
Coal India Limited 16840.82 599.83 19623.17 711.58 20428.89 937.11 4608.89 214.14

As per the information received from Coal India Ltd.(CIL), whenever any incident of theft/pilferage of coal comes to the notice of the coal companies, First Information Reports (FIRs) are lodged and action taken against the guilty. FIRs lodged in cases of theft/pilferage of coal during the last three years and current year(upto May, 2016)(provisional), subsidiary-wise and State-wise are given below:

Name of the Company State 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17
(upto May, 2016)(Provisional)
Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) West Bengal 5 27 116 51
Jharkhand 3 2 18 0
Bharat Coking Coal Ltd(BCCL) Jharkhand 12 9 9 1
West Bengal 0 0 0 0
Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) Jharkhand 5 11 3 0
Western Coalfields Ltd(WCL) Maharashtra 9 13 6 6
Madhya Pradesh 0 0 0 0
South Eastern Coalfields Ltd(SECL) Madhya Pradesh 2 2 0 0
Chhattisgarh 2 1 6 0
Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd(MCL) Odisha 2 4 0 0
North Eastern Coalfield (NEC) Assam 48 66 35 9
Coal India 88 135 193 67

Law & Order is a State subject and hence, primarily, it is the responsibility of State/District administration to take deterrent action to stop/curb theft/pilferage of coal. The coal companies are working in close coordination with the State/local administration to prevent theft of coal. Measures taken by the coal companies to check theft/pilferage of coal include:
i) Check posts have been established at entry/exit points where all coal loaded vehicles are physically checked.
ii) Technology initiatives like Global Positioning System(GPS)/General Packet Radio Service(GPRS)/Closed Circuit Televisions (CCTVs)and electronic weigh-bridges have been installed to check the problem of theft/pilferage at mines, sidings and transportation.
iii) Security at coal dumps has been improved by wall fencing, proper illumination and round the clock guarding.
iv) Concrete walls have been erected on the mouth of the abandoned mines to prevent access and illegal activities in these areas.
v) Regular raids/checks are being conducted by security personnel and static security pickets including armed guards during the night hours are deployed at pithead depots.
vi) Surprise raids/checks being conducted jointly by security personnel and law & order authorities of the State Government concerned.
vii) Collection of intelligence reports about illegal coal depots and illegal movement of coal and informing district authorities of the same for taking preventive action.
viii) Installation of check posts at vulnerable points to check transport documents.
ix) Maintaining close coordination with the State/local authorities.
x) Regular patrolling is conducted in and around the mine including overburden dumps.
xi) Armed guards have been deployed at Railway sidings.
xii) Challans for coal transportation by trucks outside the district are being issued after fixing hologram and putting signatures of authorized officials of CISF to check pilferage.
xiii) Regular FIRs are lodged by the management of the collieries and CISF with local police stations against the pilferage/theft of coal. A close watch on the activities of criminals is kept by CISF.
xiv) Escorting of coal rakes in coordination with RPFin pilferage prone areas, etc.

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