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Suresh Prabhu Panel moots hive off of CIL unit CMPDIL

An advisory committee for energy headed by Suresh Prabhu has recommended that the government hive off Coal India's exploration and consultancy arm as a separate company to help it take independent decisions and procure larger orders from private firms.

The exploration arm — the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Ltd (CMPDIL) — was set up as a subsidiary of Coal India in 1975 to offer consultancy services to the company, from the project concept stage to commissioning. The recommendation on CMPDIL is not part of the restructuring that had been proposed for Coal India (CIL).

The Prabhu panel's report suggests hiving off CMPDIL so that the company can work better and is on a level playing field with private companies in the sector. The committee made the suggestion in its interim report recently, according to an official with knowledge of the matter.

CMPDIL has a large repository of data on coal reserves and has gathered extensive experience in exploration in India. The company adds 2-3 billion tonnes to the tally of minable coal reserves every year.

CMPDIL's primary business is consultancy and support for mineral exploration, mining, infrastructure engineering, environmental management and management systems, both within and outside the coal industry and the country.