Hyderabad, Mar 30 (TNT):The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has flagged major irregularities and inefficiencies in contracts executed by The state-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), pointing to avoidable expenditure and flawed operational practices.
The findings are part of the CAG Report (No. 4 of 2025) on State Public Sector Enterprises for the period ended March 2023, was presented in the State Legislature on Monday.
A subject-specific compliance audit of overburden removal (OBR), coal transportation and stowing material contracts revealed significant deviations from prescribed norms, the report stated.
The audit found that diesel consumption in conventional equipment contracts exceeded norms, while in heavy earth moving machinery (HEMM) contracts, consumption was lower than prescribed levels, indicating unrealistic benchmarking.
The report noted that higher rates were awarded for deployment of HEMM ranging between 12.36 per cent and 32 per cent more than conventional equipment without incorporating safeguards against under-deployment. This resulted in avoidable expenditure of ₹251.05 crore.
Further, failure to enforce contractual terms led to an additional avoidable expenditure of ₹74.19 crore, it said.
In coal transportation, the audit found that coal linkage plans were not optimal, leading to uneconomical movement of coal and avoidable expenditure of ₹25.59 crore.
It also pointed out that while fixing surface transportation charges, actual expenditure was not considered, resulting in excess recovery of ₹1,078.94 crore from coal consumers.
The audit also raised environmental and compliance concerns.
Contractors in several areas did not establish effluent treatment plants as mandated under contract conditions. In underground stowing operations, river sand was preferred over more economical and environmentally sustainable alternatives such as processed overburden and bottom ash.
The CAG recommended that SCCL and the State government take corrective steps to optimise diesel consumption, incorporate adequate safeguards in contracts, rationalise coal linkage and pricing mechanisms, and promote environmentally sustainable practices in mining operations.
TNT TS
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