A Jharkhand-based captive coalmine owned by a PSU of the Punjab Government is on the brink of closure due to rampant “loot” of the mined coal during transportation from the mine to the railway siding.
Pachwara (Central) coal block at Amrapara in Pakur district of Jharkhand was allocated to PSEB (now Punjab State Power Corporation ltd or PSPCl) by the Coal Ministry for captive use for the power houses of PSPCl.
According to officials of PANEM, a joint venture of the Punjab Government and EMTA, a group of well-entrenched local criminals have been looting the mined coal during its transportation by dumpers from the mine to the railway siding at Pakur. The loot of coal on a stretch of 53 km has been going on unchecked since February 2, 2006 when the transportation commenced.
The gang engages hundreds of local men, women and children who block the road by raising bamboo barricades or hammering nails on the road and unload the coal by force. The loot continues round the clock when the coal is transported.
“Initially, the pilferage was nominal and was kept under control by the project authorities with the help of in-house security system and through the police protection provided from time to time by the local administration. But of late, the scenario has totally changed and the pilferage has now turned into looting of coal,” according to Panem officials.
According to an eyewitness account, the magnitude of looting has gone up to an unbelievable quantity of 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes everyday. Officials of the PANEM said the company’s security system has been neutralised and police protection made available by district authorities remains a mere spectator to this continuing menace.
To overcome the problem, the dumpers are dispatched from the mine to the siding in batches twice daily but the miscreants continue to unload coal throughout the day and night. A large quantity of this coal is transported to West Bengal through adjoining Birbhum district for onward supply to Bangladesh. A portion of this is also traded in some districts of West Bengal.
The power plants of PSPCl prefer to use this coal from their captive mine to keep their generation cost at a desired level as it is much cheaper that the coal supplied by CIl. State authorities of Punjab are also concerned over the issue of pilferage.