Coal India (CIL) and its subsidiaries coal companies are taking corrective measures for improving quality of coal, said Piyush Goyal, minister of state for power, coal & new and renewable energy.

The minister further stated that the subsidiary coal companies of Coal India (CIL) are supplying coal to all Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) in accordance with the provisions of Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA).

In terms of FSA, third party sampling and analysis facilities at loading ends are provided to the power utilities for assessment of quality of coal at loading end jointly and thereby loading of proper quality coal to power companies is ensured.

"CIL and its subsidiary coal companies have received some complaints from power companies/TPPs and other consuming units in the country including the power plants in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka regarding oversized coal and coal mixed with some stones/boulders, which altogether cannot be ruled out due to unique geo-mining conditions and/or factors present in Indian coal seams," the minister added.

The subsidiary coal companies of CIL put their best efforts to segregate and remove the foreign bodies present in the coal seams. In view of the complex nature of coal seams, some extraneous material can get mixed with the raw coal being supplied, for which provision for stone compensation is kept in the FSA.

The minister further said that since coal is heterogeneous in nature, the inherent ash content in coal seams cannot be ruled out totally. However, to reduce ash content and remove impurities present in the coal, thereby improving the quality of coal, CIL and its subsidiaries are adopting new technologies such as selective mining, surface miners etc.

Shares of the company gained Rs 10.25, or 2.81%, to trade at Rs 375.50 at the BSE (3.22 p.m., Thursday).