PSPCL to issue fresh tender for Jharkhand coal mine operation

PATIALA :It took the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) almost a year and a half to take a decision to issue a fresh tender for operation of its dedicated coal mine in Jharkhand.

The indecisiveness of the management, which led to nonoperation of Pachwara coal mine, has cost dearly with a loss of Rs 300 crore annually, which PSPCL spent on purchasing coal from other sources to run its coal-fired thermal power plants.

The Union coal ministry had reallocated the Pachwara coalmine in Jharkhand to PSPCL in April 2015, but it has failed to make it operational so far. The mine has been shut since March 31, 2015, as the corporation has failed to select a new operator.

The PSPCL tender to hire the new operator had hit a legal hurdle as four of the five bidders who failed to qualify the tendering process moved the court.

Though the legal adviser of the PSPCL advised its management to scrap the tender and issue a fresh tender to end all legal hitches, the top bosses of PSPCL failed to reach on any conclusion for the past one and a half years.

After taking over as chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of the corporation, A Venu Prasad moved the related file to the Punjab advocate general for his legal opinion After getting the latter’s nod, the PSPCL board of directors, in its recent meeting, decided to scrap

the previous tender.

“The advocate general has been asked to inform the high court that the PSPCL has decided to end the previous tendering process, and will issue a fresh tender,” said Venu Prasad.

He said the fresh tendering process has been started to hire a contractor to operate the coal mine, which will reduce the cost of power generation.