The Central Coalfields limited (CCl), in a bid to check smuggling of coal through National and State Highways, is all set to introduce Global Positioning System (GPS) in the coal carrying vehicles by April 30 this year.
Senior CCl officials during a meeting with South Chotanagpur Commissioner KK Khandelwal, assured him that the project work, for which tender process has already been completed, will be completed by stipulated time frame.
“The demand has been made earlier also to install GPS in the coal laden truck moving in CCl areas to check rampant smuggling of coal. They however, have promised this time that it will be done by April this year,” said Khandelwal.
A need for a proper monitoring system for checking smuggling of coal from the State Government has also been raised from time to time. Former Chief Secretary Sajal Chakraverty had also suggested convergence of mining, transport, forest, police and other concerned departments of the State Government to come together for the purpose.
“The process of installing GPS system in all the 2,150 coal transporting trucks will be completed by April 30. The tender has been handed over to M/S Orange GPS Solutions Private limited through open tender process,” said a senior CCl official requesting anonymity. The system however, will be made functional initially in two company areas as a pilot project, to be extended later in other parts of the State as per the feedback received from here.
The official further added that the vehicle entering the coal picket will be provided a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag having all the detail regarding the vehicle written on it. Online photograph and weight of empty trucks will be taken before loading it and the details will automatically be recorded in the server.
Similarly, all details will also be recorded into the server while being unloaded at the receiving end, he said. “The system will enable us to track the vehicle right from loading to unloading and get details of it on our server,” he said. The GPS equipment fitted with the trucks will enable the authorities to keep a track of its movement as well as the route being followed by it. If the truck gets diverted from its assigned route even by 50 metres, the server will generate an alert on the system for which driver could be made accountable to.
“Besides that the weighing bridges will also be equipped with CCTV cameras connected to the server providing data to the server through Wide Area Network (WAN),” said the official. A foolproof system with the latest technology is being adopted to check coal smuggling in the state with a complete computerised package of GPS, boom barrier, CCTV cameras at weighing brides on both ends as well as RFID tags on trucks.
Boom barriers will not be allow the trucks to move out from the weighing bridge having more load than the maximum permitted limit . The best part of the project, according to the CCl officials, is that everything will be controlled through computer system leaving minimum possibility for deception during the transportation. If the project succeeds, it will be a revolution in the field of transportation of coal, he said.