Singareni's Rao may take over as Coal India chief

Rao likely to take the charge of CIL either on April 24 or April 26

The Chairman and Managing Director of Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL), S Narsing Rao, is likely to take over the top post of Coal India, next week.

"Rao is likely to take the charge of Coal India (CIL) either on April 24 or April 26," a top official in the Coal Ministry said.

The new chief will take over the top job at a time when the Maharatna firm is battling problems, including delays in regulatory clearances to enhance production, inability to meet growing demand from power sector and concerns by investors that it lacked leadership.

Rao received his appointment letter from the Coal Ministry earlier this month. Last week, he had said that Andhra Pradesh Government was making arrangements to relieve him. SCCL is a joint venture between the Centre and Andhra Pradesh.

The top post has been lying vacant after former Chairman and Managing Director Partha S Bhattacharyya retired on February 28, 2011. Soon after his retirement, the government had given additional charge of CMD to N C Jha, director technical.

After Jha's retirement on January 31, 2012, the charge was given to Zohra Chatterji, Additional Secretary, Coal Ministry.

Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) had earlier recommended the name of Rao, a 1986-batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh Cadre, to lead the PSU.

The search-cum-selection committee of PESB had interviewed 19 aspirants including heads of a clutch of state-run firms and CIL Director (Personnel) R Mohan Das.

CIL which accounts for over 80% of the domestic production and produced 435.84 million tonnes of coal in the just-concluded fiscal against a revised output target of 447 million tonne.