'DNA' investigation: More staff could have helped CCO check coal scam

The Coal Controller’s Organisation (CCO), the nodal agency for monitoring private captive coal blocks, could have stemmed the rot in the UPA government’s coal allocations, had it not been kept poorly staffed and ineffectual. While repeated requests from the Kolkata-based CCO to the coal ministry seeking a nod to recruit additional manpower went unheeded, the Comptroller & Auditor General’s report on coal allocations chastised the government for the poor functioning of the regulatory organisation.

DNA has found that the severely short-staffed CCO is simply unable to monitor coal blocks efficiently. With just about 150 employees, the CCO monitors more than 600 coal blocks across the country. These blocks include those belonging to state-run Coal India Ltd (CIL) and its subsidiaries. Worse, more than 80% of the CCO’s existing employees are non-executive staff, including peons and drivers.

What’s more, many of the CCO’s employees are on deputation from CIL, and every year, a few return to their parent company.

“There is a dearth of qualified technical staff. People on deputation do not have the expertise required as they come from non-technical sections of CIL such as sales, marketing, etc,” said a CCO official who has been the with organisation for more than five years.

As a result, the CCO remained unable to even report that of the 194 private captive block allottees, production has begun only in 28. Moreover, the accuracy of data furnished by the allottees could not be properly assessed by the monitoring committee for captive coal blocks. “The CCO could not conduct any physical inspections of allotted coal blocks to ascertain the actual progress vis-à-vis the progress reported by the allottees,” the CAG report had noted.

In July 2010, the ministry had directed that nine blocks that had reached peak rated capacity would not be reviewed further, and that their progress would be monitored by the CCO. But the CCO failed to comply with these directives, thanks to lack of manpower.

The CCO is, in fact, a subordinate office of the ministry. With headquarters at Kolkata, its field offices in Dhanbad, Ranchi, Bilaspur, Nagpur and Kothagudem are tasked with carrying out inspections to ascertain coal quality in selected mines, inspections to ensure compliance with specific orders relating to coal quality, resolving statutory complaints, etc. They also monitor captive coal blocks.

Each field office is headed by a general manager-level executive supported by technical officers. Each field office is manned by not more than 10 people. For instance, the Ranchi field office is staffed by 10 people including a mere three officers responsible for monitoring more than 120 coal blocks in the region.

In fact, the CAG report makes a mention of the delay in making appointments. “It was noticed that the process of creation of 17 technical posts proposed by CCO in 2007 is still under consideration of the coal ministry,” the report states. “Five years have passed but the ministry has not yet given a go-ahead to increase staff strength. This is unacceptable. It shows that it is not willing to strengthen the organisation,” said coal industry leader Rajendra Prasad Singha, also national vice-president of the Hind Mazdoor Sabha.

In addition, the ministry in January this year also gave coal controller Amrit Acharya an additional responsibility, making him commissioner of the Coal Miners Provident Fund Organisation (CMPFO). “Both organisations are massively short-staffed. Mr Acharya barely visits CMPFO office, so our organisation is suffering too,” added Singha, a member of the latter organisation’s board of trustees.