To check coal pilferage, all trucks of Coal India would be fitted with GPS tracking devices within a month, a top government official said on Friday.
The world's single largest coal miner is undergoing a major technological upgradation on the lines of global mining practices in countries like the US and Australia that will include GPS tracking of vehicles to check coal plunder and having a ICT-compliant machinery.
"We are using technology to bring the coal theft down. Under the initiative 70-80 per cent of trucks in Coal India have been GPS-mapped while 100 per cent trucks will be covered under it in a month," Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said at an event here.
The revamp will also cover electronic fencing of mines. The move comes against the backdrop of the single largest global producer of coal being mandated to double its output to 1 billion tonne by 2020. Besides, the government is looking at opening up commercial coal mining to private players.
Swarup said apart from the GPS-mapping of trucks, CCTVs are being fitted at all possible vulnerable points to check the pilferage which is a "very serious problem."
Earlier this week, Coal India CMD Sutirtha Bhattacharya has said, "Coal India is ready for a technological jump to increase its efficiency and output. A large number of steps are being initiated that include use of satellite technology for green fencing and utilisation of GPS to monitor vehicles."