Three CIL subsidiaries record fall in coal offtake in April-Nov period

Coal offtake by Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL), a Coal India (CIL) subsidiary, has fallen short of the target by five per cent during April-November of the current financial year. MCL is amongst the three CIL subsidiaries where coal offtake failed to meet the targeted figure.

Although CIL's overall coal despatches at the end of November grew eight per cent, MCL is the second-largest subsidiary in terms of coal production volume after South Eastern Coalfields (SECL).

For Bharat Coking Coal (BCCL), the offtake declined by 5.9 per cent, and for Eastern Coalfields (ECL), the despatch was down 7.1 per cent.

Apart from SECL whose despatches improved by 13 per cent, other subsidiary companies — Western Coalfields (WCL), Central Coalfields (CCL) and Northern Coalfields (NCL) recorded 32.3 per cent, 19.7 per cent and 18.9 per cent, respectively.

CIL's total coal despatch in April-November stood at 367.98 million tonnes, marking a growth of 8.1 per cent, according to the company's filing with the BSE on production and offtake parameters.

The crunch in availability of railway rakes, especially in eastern states pulled down coal despatches of subsidiaries such as BCCL, MCL and ECL.

Total coal production by CIL at the end of November was 329.30 million tonnes, an achievement of 95 per cent of the target. Coal output went up marginally by 1.8 per cent. CCL and NCL produced in excess of the mandated targets. However, top-producing subsidiaries like SECL and MCL lagged the target.

Coal India Ltd