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Inadequate volumes complaints being tackled: WCL

May 18: Change in any system faces resistance and WCL had also faced such resistance in the introduction of its new allocation procedure, which replaced an age-old system, an official of Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) said.

The official further stated that most of the grievances expressed in the representations of the consumers for the month of March, 2015 were about inadequacy of the quantity of coal offered for allocation and they have been considered and efforts have been made by WCL to address them in the procedure notified for allocation for April, 2015 and May, 2015.

No consumer has expressed dissatisfaction about the allocation process adopted for the month of May, 2015, the official claimed.

WCL also said the categorisation of consumers into various groups is necessary, since the size/grade requirement of the consumers are not uniform and all the mines at WCL do not produce the same grade of coal.

The mines at WCL are located in two different states -- Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh --and consumers are located across 7 different states.

“Hence, categorisation, based on the proximity to the sources was also the consideration for the categorisation of the consumers. The coal supply agreements entered into with the consumers have 12 different grade ranges,” the official added.

He pointed that some customers are entitled to the release of G4 to G10 grades and some for release of only 1 grade of coal, say G9. The consumers entitled for release of the maximum grades of coal, say G4 to G10, shall get mapped for the maximum number of collieries for supplies since all the collieries producing such grades will be mapped for them, though the total number of consumers linked to that range of grade may be few.

On the other hand, consumers entitled to the release of a single grade of coal shall get mapped for a lesser number of collieries, since only such collieries producing that grade of coal can be mapped.

“Hence, the allegation about arbitrariness in the categorisation of the consumers is not correct. The categorisation and mapping of collieries for each category of consumers is not without any logic,” the official said.

WCL has further said that allegation from some sources that the procedure has helped some influential coal traders handling the DOs of CSA consumers and put at disadvantage those consumers who are directly handling the requirement is false.

“In fact, majority of the complaints are received from consumers who have engaged handling agents and as stated above, most of the complaints were motivated by the handling agents themselves, who feel threatened of their very existence under the new allocation procedure,” the WCL official added.