Coal traders buying from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) have sought the help of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to resolve the ongoing friction between the buyers and the supplier about coal quality issues.
The MCL is forcing the consumers to buy adulterated and ungraded coal from Lingaraj and Anant Collieries of Talcher belt, a Kolkata-based trade association has complained.
The Federation of Coal Consumers Dealers and Traders (FCCDT) has written a letter to the CVC on August 20 about the 'breach of trust' by the MCL, a subsidiary of state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL).
"It is our humble submission to accept this letter as a complaint against MCL management who are enforcing to get lift ungraded/burnt coal from their existing stock in Lingaraj and Anant Collieries and the e-auction buyers are lifting the coal under compulsion to avoid the forfeiture of their EMD at Rs 500 per tonne of non-lifted quantity,” the association wrote.
As per the e-auction procedure, the buyers have to lift the coal once they place an order, otherwise they will have to pay the penalty of Rs 500 per tonne or Rs 400 per tonne as per coal quality for the unlifted quantity or for cancellation of order after the bidding. The MCL authorities, however, denied commenting on the issue. This is not the first time that the coal buyers have complained about MCL supplied coal quality. Many state-based power producers, sponge iron makers have accused the company of selling low grade coal in 2008 and 2009.