Question : COAL PILFERAGES

MINISTER OF STATE FOR COAL (SHRI N.T.SHANMUGAM)

(a) There is a security infrastructure of the subsidiary companies of Coal India Limited (CIL) comprising of personnel belonging to company security, hired private security guards, State armed police/home guards and Central Industrial Security Force who are entrusted with the security of individual coal mines. Monthly review meetings with district authorities are being held by the subsidiary companies of CIL for drawing out plans to eliminate the menace and carrying out surprise checks/raids in cooperation with the State Police at sensitive points and lodging of FIRs with the local police. Sporadic cases of pilferage of coal come to the notice of the coal companies as a sequel to raids conducted by security forces engaged by them as well as through the joint raids with State law and order agencies.

(b) The details of quantity and value of the coal recovered during each of the last three years from the coal mines of the subsidiary companies of CIL, state-wise, are given below: -

1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000
STATE	Quanti	Approxima	Quanti	Approxima	Quanti Approxima	ty	te Value	ty te Value	ty te Value	recove	(Rs. in	recove (Rs.in	recove (Rs. in	red	lakhs)	red lakhs)	red lakhs)	(Tone)	(Tone)	(Tone)
West Bengal	5988 43.10	12834 103.09	650	6.45
Bihar	5081 38.36	3278 27.60	3261	45.71
Orissa	96	0.51	144 0.84	321	1.66
MP	21	0.19	91	1.00	109	0.69
Maharashtra 76	0.73	107 1.33	34	0.36
UP	15	0.06	0	0	0	0
Assam	25	0.19	50	0.50	0	0
Total	11302	83.14	16504 134.36	4375	54.87

(c) Some of the coal mining areas of the subsidiary companies of CIL are located in densely populated areas covering a large number of towns and villages. The high density of urban and rural population in and around such coal mining areas has created problems for the management of these coal companies in eliminating the incidents of coal pilferage. On account of closure of a large number of industrial units in such areas, there has been an acute unemployment problem for quite some years. The miscreants take advantage of the severe unemployment problem and utilize the local population for carrying out pilferage of coal. A part of the pilfered coal is also used for meeting the domestic requirements of the local population, as coal is the predominant fuel in such areas where there is lack of authorized retailers of coal.

(d) The following steps are being taken by subsidiary companies of CIL to prevent pilferage of coal: -

i) Collection of intelligence reports about illegal coal depots and illegal movement of coal and informing district authorities of the same for taking preventive action.

ii) Installation of check-posts at vulnerable points to check transport documents.

iii) Construction of watch towers and providing lighting arrangements around the coal stacking area.

iv) Erection of barbed-wire/wall fencing around pithead depots, static security manning including deployment of armed guards during the night hours.

v) Escorting of loaded rakes upto railway weighbridges by armed guards and joint patrolling with Railway Protection Force (RPF) in the long railway tracks which are prone to wagon looting.

vi) Sealing of illegal mining spots.

vii) Stringent action against transport vehicles caught in the act of theft or pilferage.

viii) Engagement of lady security guards for preventing women and children indulging in theft/pilferage of coal, strengthening of the security discipline by reassessing the requirement of security personnel, horizontal movement of executives with aptitude for security work and inducting qualified security personnel at junior, middle and senior levels.

ix) Training of existing security personnel, refresher training of CISF personnel and basic training to new recruits in security discipline for strengthening the security set up.