Coal India signs fuel supply pacts with 56 power plants

The government toda y said that state-run Coal India (CIL) has signed fuel supply pacts with 56 power plants so far.

"Coal India Ltd has signed 56 fuel supply agreements (FSAs) with the power plants as on March 2," Minister of State for Coal Pratik Prakashbapu Patil said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

The deadline set by the Prime Minister's Office for signing of FSAs between CIL and power producers expired in January.

Replying to a question regarding CIL's Chief Vigilance Officer highlighting irregularities in awarding of FSAs, the minister said, "CIL has observed certain deficiencies in the documents of 11 cases, during verification of the documents in respect of milestone achievement of LoAs (Letter of Assurance)."

The minister also added that appropriate action would be taken by CIL's subsidiaries to ensure that all due procedures are observed.

Replying to a separate question on coal quality, Patil said there is a proposal to engage an independent third party sampling agency by CIL for consumers having FSAs.

"Modalities are being worked out in this regard by Coal India," he said.