CIL rolls out Rs 50cr mine surveillance system

Kolkata: Coal India Ltd has put in place over 5,000 security cameras across 300 mines of its subsidiaries to thwart pilferage attempts and ensure quick response to disasters, a senior company official said.

The Rs 50-crore project will provide live feed from the mines to the coal major's headquarters in Kolkata and other regional offices, prompting swift action in case of emergencies, he said.

"CIL hopes to achieve twin purposes with the initiative - live monitoring of the collieries to prevent pilferage and other corrupt practices, especially during dispatch by rail, and increase overall efficiency of the mines with real-time response to crisis situations," the official said.

The CCTV project, unveiled recently by the Central Vigilance Commissioner K V Chowdary, along with CIL Chairman A K Jha, will also help settle allegations and disputes on coal availability.

"As a part of the in-house project, 5,100 CCTVs have been installed at strategic points vulnerable to pilferage -- the weigh bridges, near coal dumps and the entry and exit points of collieries.

"The information technology department of the company is also working on a system to automatically trigger alarms in case of a pilferage attempt from stockyards or mines," he added.