RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Oct 1: Giving a report on the pilferage of coal is not easy in Jharkhand. This was reflected by the delay made by superintendents of police of seven districts of the mineral-rich state with headquarters of two subsidiary units of Coal India in giving reports to ADG (rail).
The ADG (rail) on October 8, 2018, and then in September 2020 had asked SP (rail) Dhanbad under communication to the SPs of Chatra, Hazaribagh, Ramgarh, and Bokaro to report on the pilferage of coal saying he had come to know that coal was being sent to various private power companies from Amrapali-Magadh coal projects and reaches to various mandis before reaching the rail siding. However, they have not sent the report so far.
A resident of Barkagaon, Mantu Soni, informed this to Lagatar24.com saying he concluded this after he exercised the Right to Information Act. “It was Prashant Singh who had sought a report. Singh’s tenure ended waiting for the report and now Anil Palta has replaced him, but the report has not come,” Soni said expressing his concern over the disrespect of senior officers in the police department.
Mantu said to submit the report activities of these, Modern, Hindalco, Bajaj Group Lemco Lalitpur, BKG, Rahul Carbon, National Transport, Maa Gange Coal Trading Pvt Ltd, Piyush Coal Trading, Godavari, S Kedia (Patratu, Bhurkunda, Katakamsandi Siding), Maa Ambe, Balaji (Patratu, Balumath, Katakamsandi Siding) companies had to be investigated.
Mantu explaining the letter said that ADG Rail had written in his letter that he had received information that coal being sent to various private power companies from Amrapali-Magadh coal projects was being smuggled into various mandis even before reaching the rail siding.
The letter read that due to this, the power companies are either not getting coal in the right quantity or are getting low-grade coal. It was also reported that the coal of private power companies is transported by many private coal transport companies. These companies load coal on the racks in an irregular manner after depositing the entire coal on the railway siding as per the sale order. The entire coal from the concerned colliery is not picked up and brought to the railway siding on time. Only a portion of the allocated coal arrives at the siding on time. Not only this, coal from another colliery or stolen coal is loaded on that rake which is of low quality and the same coal is sent to a private power plant.
