(a) whether the Government is aware of the large scale illegal mining and pilferage of coal;
(b) if so, whether any steps have been taken by the Government in this regard during the last four years; and
(c) the number of complaints regarding illegal mining and pilferage of coal that have been received during the last three years and the action taken by the Government thereon, with State/UT-wise details thereof?
MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, COAL AND MINES
(SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI)
(a): As informed by Coal India Limited (CIL), illegal mining and pilferage of coal is reported to be carried out mainly from abandoned mines, shallow coal seams, situated at remote/isolated places from the mines and are scattered over a large area. These are Law & Order problems, which is a State subject, hence primarily falls under the domain of the State/District administration to take necessary deterrent action to stop/curb illegal mining, theft, pilferage of coal. The coal companies are working in close coordination with the State /local administration to prevent theft /pilferage of coal.
(b) The Management of Coal India Limited and its subsidiary companies lodges FIR with the local Thana to take necessary action. Following steps are taken to check such incidents–
Theft / pilferage of coal:
• RFID based Boom Barriers and CCTV camera at weighbridges, GPRS based vehicle tracking system with geofencing, CCTV camera at strategic locations of all mines have been installed.
• Regular FIRs are lodged by the Colliery Management and CISF with local Thana. A close watch on the activities of criminals is being kept by CISF.
• Interaction and liaison with District officials at regular intervals and holding meeting with Officials of the State Administration.
• 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.
• Armed Guards have been deployed at Railway sidings.
• Escorting of coal rakes in coordination with RPF upto weighbridge, is arranged in pilferage prone areas.
• Surprise re-weighment of coal loaded trucks is done at weighbridges.
• Surprise checks / raids are conducted by flying squads of CISF/security department.
• Regular patrolling is conducted in and around the mine including OB dumps.
• Joint patrolling with local police is also being carried out in pilferage prone areas.
• Check posts have been established at entry / exit points where all coal laden vehicles are physically checked.
• Security at coal dumps has been strengthened by fencing, proper illumination and round the clock guarding.
Illegal mining of coal:
• Concrete walls have been erected on the mouth of the abandoned mines to prevent access and illegal activities in these areas.
• Surprise raids/checks being conducted jointly by security personnel and law and order authorities of the concerned State Government.
• Dumping of the overburden is being done on the outcrop zones.
• Installation of check-posts at vulnerable points.
• Training of existing security/CISF personnel, refresher training and basic training of new recruits in security discipline for strengthening the security setup;
• Maintaining close liaison with the State authorities.
• Committee/task force has been constituted at different level (block level, sub-divisional level, district level, state level) in some subsidiaries of CIL to monitor different aspects of illegal mining.
Ministry of Coal has launched a Mobile App-KhananPrahari and web App Coal Mines Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS) in July, 2018 for the purpose of detecting and taking action on unauthorized coal mining activities and enable law and order authorities to take suitable action in time.
(c) A total number of 424 complaints till 30th August, 2020 has been generated through Khanan Prahari Mobile Application. Action on the complaints, which were found true after verification by nodal officer, is taken in coordination with concerned law enforcement agencies.The state/UT wise details of which are as follows:-
CIL Area Non-CIL Area
Assam Chhatisgarh Madhya Pradesh Odisha West Bengal Maharashtra Jharkhand
Number of complaint generated 292 4 10 34 5 56 9 14
Complaint verified 284 4 6 4 2 1 - -
Complaint found true 63 3 - - - - - -
Complaint found false/repeated after verification 221 1 6 4 2 1 - -
Complaint yet to be verified 8 - 4 30 3 55 9 14
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