Kirti Azad seeks central probe into corruption in Eastern Coalfields
The Statesman | 3 August 2025
Trinamul Congress MP Kirti Azad has written to Union coal and mines minister G Kishan Reddy demanding a comprehensive investigation by federal agencies, including CBI and ED into what he described as “pervasive and systemic corruption” within Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited operating in West Bengal and Jharkhand.
However BJP erstwhile state president and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar ridicules TMC MP Mr Azad as he sought central agencies inquires into the matter.
In the letter, Azad expressed “deep concern” over a series of alleged financial and operational irregularities in ECL’s mining zones, including Kunustoria, Kajora, Pandaveswar, and Rajmahal. He urged immediate intervention by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), citing what he called an entrenched “criminal nexus” involving ECL officials and external contractors. The former cricketer-turned-MP, who also heads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on chemicals and fertilizers, said he was approached by whistleblowers and NGOs who flagged large-scale bid rigging, coal pilferage, grade manipulation, and loss-making contracts that have drained public resources. Mr Azad accused a cartel of 14 companies, all allegedly registered at a single address and controlled by two individuals, of monopolizing the tender process through collusion with ECL officials. These firms, he claimed, had formed a “one-man cartel” that dominates procurement, mining, transportation, and coal sales across multiple collieries.
The letter further referred to a suspected coal pilferage racket centered in West Bengal’s Kunustoria and Kajora mining regions that, according to Azad, caused losses amounting to Rs 1,300 crore. He noted that hawala transactions and the arrest of seven ECL officials, including senior officials and security staff, pointed to a wider institutional failure. Citing a recent Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, Mr Azad highlighted irregularities in contractor payments due to coal shortages during transportation, resulting in a loss of Rs 17.39 crore. He also alleged that officers were deliberately downgrading high-grade coal to lower grades to benefit private contractors.
Azad’s letter also named a private mining company as a central player in the alleged wrongdoing. He accused the firm’s top executives of bribing officials and manipulating tender norms in violation of Central Vigilance Commission guidelines. “The depth and breadth of these issues point not to sporadic corruption, but to an entrenched criminal nexus,” Azad wrote. He emphasised that only a federal investigation could restore accountability and public faith in ECL’s operations. The letter was also marked to the secretaries of the coal and mines ministry, the ED, the CBI, and the chairman-cum-managing director of ECL. Reacting to the development, BJP MP and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar took a swipe at Azad and the TMC, saying on X (formerly Twitter): “At last TMC MPs have also started demanding investigation by central agencies like CBI & ED. This letter of MP Kirti Azad shows that he has lost faith in West Bengal Police.” He also noted that many of the individuals named in Azad’s complaint were allegedly close to a TMC district president of Paschim Burdwan. However the Coal Ministry has also not commented on whether it will recommend a federal probe.