The Union Minister of Coal and Mines wants to see all existing coal washeries under the management of different subsidiaries of Coal India Ltd (CIL) run profitably or else they would be closed down. The Ministry feels that running washeries is not the principal job of a coal company, particularly when industrial consumers are reluctant to pay washing charges on the plea that the charges are at higher side, Coal consumers are advised to take washing responsibility. However1 the Ministry has directed the Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDI), a subsidiary of CIL, to examine economic viability of each washery. Even as CIL has decided in principle not to make further investment in coal washing business, the Ministry, on the contrary, feels that fresh investment can be made provided there is a scope to turn around the loss making coal washeries. It may be mentioned that Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) has six washeries for washing medium coking coal and one for non-coking coal, while Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) has eight washeries for washing prime coking coal and one for medium coking coal. Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL) runs only one non-coking coal washery, leaving Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) to operate one medium coking coal washery.
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