Rlys Reviewing Coal Wagon Movement To Power Units

The railway ministry is taking a fresh look at the command and control mechanism involved in the movement of coal wagons to power houses and freight payment made by the power houses.

The review has been prompted by complaints received from power houses about "missing wagons" and its own problems about obtaining payment for freight. The Gujarat Electricity Board has complained that 75,000 wagons despatched to it from different collieries are missing over the past three years.

"Wagons moving to one destination are often diverted to another whenever there is a blockade on the tracks or any problem in the movement of trains. Coal wagons meant for one power house is often sent to another one. In that case, the power house expecting to receive coal wagons show them as missing in their records", a Rail Bhavan source said.

The accounts between the railways and power houses are reconciled from time to time. Power houses who have received less number of wagons than what they ordered are sent additional wagons to make up the loss. Those who have received more wagons than what they ordered, are denied additional wagons till the accounts are reconciled.

"These problems can be handled to a large extent if we have a strong computer network to monitor freight bookings, movement and receipt of wagons at different destinations. This is why we are working with CMC to develop a monitoring software", the source said.

The Railways had experimented with a Canadian software and tried to build a computer network in certain sections in North India. But the software did not work as well as it was expected to, and now CMC has been asked to develop a software suited to Indian conditions. The railways has also decided to obtain pre-payment from power houses, either at the booking stations or before lifting the goods at the destination.

The idea is to apply the breaks on the increase in unpaid dues of power houses. Which have run up to Rs 928.86 crore as on March 31, 1998. The largest amount is due from the Badarpur unit of NTPC which was to pay Rs 795 crore as on March 31. Among state electricity boards (SEBs), the Harayana Electricity board is the biggest defaulter with dues of Rs 46.77 crore as on March 31.

It has also decided to adjust freight bills with electric traction bills, and withhold other payments to different organisations till freight dues from them are realised. It is also holding regular meetings with SEBs and central power utilities to persuade them to pay up the pending dues.

This is besides the adjustment from the plan assistance given by the Centre to states which have the defaulting SEBs. The adjustment is done at the rate of 15 per cent of plan assistance and is according to the same yardstick as is used for adjusting dues of National Thermal Power Corporation and Coal India.