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There has been a substantial improvement in conformity to declared grade of coal supply from Coal India Ltd (CIL) sources, with the figure jumping to 69 per cent in 2022-23 (till November) as against 51 per cent in 2017-18, the Coal Ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry said that it has taken various steps for improvement in quality including periodic re-gradation of coal mines, introduction of improved mining technology like surface miners, supply of washed coal, first mile connectivity for direct conveying of coal on belt from coal surface/face to rapid loading silo, installation of auto analysers, and more.

Different officials and agencies are entrusted with the job of ensuring supply of coal in conformity to the declared quality, it said. The Coal Controller Organisation (CCO), a subordinate office under the ministry, regularly assesses and declares coal mines grades. Primary reason for grade variation is the inherent heterogeneous nature of Indian coal itself, or that calorific value of coal extracted within the same seam at different points tends to vary.

For enhanced customer satisfaction, special emphasis has been given to quality management of coal from mine to dispatch point. Now, all the consumers of CIL have the option for quality assessment of the supplies through independent third-party sampling agencies.

App UTTAM (Unlocking Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined Coal) is available for consumers/general public to view the third-party validation of coal supply, the ministry said.