CIL subsidiary alleged to have compromised mine safety

Bharat Coking Coal (BCCL), a subsidiary of Coal India (CIL), has come under the Competition Commission of India (CCI) scanner for floating a vendor-biased global tender against the country’s competition rule, thereby compromising the safety of mines.

A source in the CCI told FE that BCCL floated a tender in November 2012 asking for Mine Slope Stability Monitoring Radar. But the specifications given were out dated and not vendor neutral. The specification only supported one technology — Real Aperture Radar (RAR) system.