Coal Stealing on Unprecedented Scale by Indian Mafia contributes to Indian Power Woes

Coal Stealing and Pilferage by the Coal Mafia has always been done on a massive multi million dollar  scale. In the coal rich states of Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Chattisgarh, Stealing of Coal is a major illegal industry. Everyone knows about it and nothing is done  as most officials and politicians get a cut of the illegal gains. Corruption in  India is institutionalized as governing bodies remain weak and powerless. Despite India’s much touted growth story,all these needling problems have contributed towards the Indian GDP slowing down sharply. Unless governance is improved,its tough to see how India can achieve its potential.

Dreaded Dons openly operate and steal millions of dollars in coal every day in the Indian coal districts. Coal India which is the state owned monopoly producer of coal has openly acknowledged the fact.India is facing a power crisis due to inadequate production of coal and the Coal Stealing is contributing. Note the Uses of Coal are more than just power and this stolen coal is  diversified and sold to these companies. There are a number of small private companies who buy this illegal coal at lower than market prices. In fact the entire business model of some of these smaller cement,steel companies is built on pilfered coal.

Not only Coal,but other Fossil Fuels like Petrol, Diesel and Gas also have related Mafias stealing and making billions out of their illegal trade. These Mafias are so powerful that they think nothing of killing honest government officials who take them on.

India’s Fossil Fuel Subsidies have led to a massive growth of the petrol and diesel mafia in the country.India gives subsidies on diesel,kerosene and cooking gas through its state owned petro/gas companies like BPCL,IOCL,HPCL etc.These subsidies have been given for a long time and have led to the growth of a parallel black economy in these products.They not only lead to capital misallocation but also to the massive illegal profits for a few.It is a well known fact that all petroleum pump owners adulterate petroleum ( which power most of the cars) with subsdized diesel and kerosene.This massive racket earns millions of dollars (if not billions) for a network of company officials,pump owners,government bureaucrats and politicians.The mafia is so strong and powerful that it thinks  nothing of burning alive a senior police official.The racketeers are so rich and well connected that despite common knowledge nothing gets done about it.

List of major Indian Coal Companies

1) Coal India Limited (CIL)– The State Owned Giant Coal Producer dwarfs the other companies through its sheer size,scale,cost and reach.The company has fared poorly in the current year after its IPO as its production growth has almost come to Zero.However its sells coal at such a low cost,that it could easily raise prices of coal in select categories to meet its financial goals.One of the safest investments in the stock market.It posseses high level of cash,low valuation compared to global peers and has a huge room to raise coal prices in the future.

2) Neyveli Lignite Corporation is a PSU like NTPC and is also involved in lignite mining company in India. The company is mainly based out of the southern state of Tamil Nadu and mines some 24 million ton of lignite per year with an installed capacity of 2490 MW

3) Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is a PSU  jointly owned by Andhra Pradesh and the Federal Governm .The company is involved in mining coal  in the GodavariValley region, with reserves of around 8 Billion Tons with production of around 50 million tons a year.Note listed currently still one of the major coal companies in India.