While some are held by officers on extension and therefore unwilling to take sensitive decisions towards the end of their careers, some officers find themselves overburdened with dual charge.
With as many as nine key posts in its top management held by officers on extension or holding dual charge or lying vacant, a wilful neglect of state-run Coal India Ltd (CIL) has continued even as the Union government contends that coal block allocation to private players is essential to meet the country’s power requirements.
The government has in the past stated repeatedly that CIL is unable to meet these requirements. These nine posts in CIL and its subsidiaries include roles key to planning, strategy and ensuring the competitiveness of the Navratna company.
While some are held by officers on extension and therefore unwilling to take sensitive decisions towards the end of their careers, some officers find themselves overburdened with dual charge.
Other posts have not been filled for years. “We have seen urgency in allotting coal blocks to private players, but never any urgency in setting Coal India’s house in order,” says Tapan Sen, Rajya Sabha MP of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
In South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), CIL’s biggest subsidiary, the post of Chairman and Managing Director has been held by AK Sinha, CIL’s director (Finance), ever since a CBI case against former CMD M P Dixit. Sinha has held the dual portfolio for over a year now. While SECL is headquartered in Bilaspur, Chattisgarh, CIL is based in Kolkata.
Similarly, Nagendra Kumar, director (Technical) in CIL, was given additional charge as CMD of the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Ltd (CMPDIL) two months ago.
“Acting CMDs or officers on extension have no long-term planning, no programme for the future. They are meant for signatures alone,” says Surendra Pande, a senior coal veteran of the Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh and member of the Joint Bipartite Committee for the Coal Industry (JBCCI).
In Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL), following the implication of the CMD on graft charges, additional charge was given to SK Singh, joint secretary in the Ministry of Coal. Reportedly, Singh visits NCL in Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh, only once in about 10 days.
Alongside these officials overburdened with dual charges and targets, the Union government is still to make appointments to the strategic post of Director - Project and Planning (P&P) in three subsidiaries. For more than two years, project planning in in Central Coalfields Limited, Eastern Coalfields Limited and SECL is done by junior officials.
It is the Public Sector Enterprises Board, the Ministry of Coal and the Prime Minister’s office along with Chief Vigilance Commission (CVC) who are responsible for appointing people to these posts. “By not appointing a director for planning, responsible for excavation and production, the government is deliberately hindering the growth of the PSU,” said Pande.
There are also cases where top officials have been on extension for several months. For instance, DC Garg, CMD of Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), whose five-year tenure ended in April this year, has been is now on a second extension. In CIL and Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) too, the key post of Director –Personnel is held by officers on extension.
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