Calcutta | March 19, 2017: The office of the coal controller under the Union coal ministry is set to play a bigger role in certifying the quality of the fuel in 2017-18.

According to coal controller Anjani Kumar, his office will revisit the coal grades of each mine and certify them in a move similar to the hallmarking of gold.

At present, coal producers self-declare the grades.

Varying grades given by buyers and sellers have made it necessary to introduce third-party sample analysis.

Several coal consumers, including public sector thermal power companies, have locked horns with Coal India in the past over the issue of grade. The coal producer has been accused of charging for a grade that is different from the one supplied.

"I am confident that in the future, consumers will get coal according to the declared grade," Kumar said. He added that his organisation is working with scientific institutions such as IIT BHU, ISM Dhanbad, IIT Guwahati among others on coal gradation.

One of the key functions of the Coal Controller is to inspect collieries to ensure that the grade declared is correct. Kumar said in the next financial year, his office intends to keep the records of third-party analysis of coal of each mine and re-grade the mines based on such data.

"This process will continue throughout the year," Kumar said.

Coal India, which supplies majority of the domestic coal, operates 413 mines.

The impact of such a move on coal price realisation, however, remains unclear.

Former Coal India chairman Partha Bhattacharyya said it was difficult to predict whether there will be any negative impact on the overall revenue because of fresh analysis.

"Some mines may be downgraded while, in some cases, some mines may even witness an upgrade," he said.

The varying grades could also be attributed to the heterogeneous nature of the coal seams. "One must note that coal is not a manufactured product. It is what exists in nature. The coal by itself is not homogeneous," Kumar said.

(Source: https://www.telegraphindia.com/)