Coal grade slippage: Govt panel to meet by month-end

The panel set up for resolution of disputes between state electricity agencies and Coal India with regard to coal grade slippage will meet by the month-end to further deliberate on the issue amid the government terming quality determination of fossil fuel as a challenge.
"The meeting of the ADRM (Additional Dispute Resolution Mechanism) committee (on resolution of disputes between State Electricity Agencies and CIL (and its subsidiaries)/SCCL relating to third party sampling/grade slippage...Has now been fixed on March 29, 2016," according to the meeting notice.
All the members of the panel from states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh have been asked to attend the meeting along with the representatives of respective state power corporation/GENCO.

The committee formed almost a year back is co-chaired by Joint Secretaries of both Ministry of Coal and Ministry of Power, an official said.
With quality determination of fossil fuels posing a challenge to the government, the state-owned CIL had earlier roped in additional third-party agencies to do the job.
The agencies are Allied (India), Shree Coal Research LLP, Mitra SK Pvt Ltd, R V Briggs & Company Pvt Ltd, CIL said.

Coal Secretary Anil Swarup had earlier termed the quality of coal as "an area of concern".
The government had already brought in a new regime for sampling and testing of the dry fuel from January 1 to ensure supplying quality coal to consumers.

Through this move that government aims at putting an end to controversies like the one between NTPC and the coal behemoth on the quality front, according to industry thinkers.
CIL, which accounts for about 80 per cent of the domestic dry fuel production, supplies a chunk of the coal it produces to power utilities, the thinkers said.