A catalogue of failure and a call for consequence
The Auditor General’s findings on coal procurement for Norochcholai read less like an audit and more like an indictment of process. What emerges is not a single lapse, but a chain of shortcomings – each compounding the next, each avoidable, and each carrying cost.
THE SHORTCOMINGS – ONE BY ONE
1. Compromised Supplier Entry
Unqualified or incompletely registered suppliers were permitted into the bidding process, weakening the very first line of defence.
2. Diluted Qualification Criteria
Pre-set standards were lowered or inconsistently applied, allowing vendors without proven capacity to compete and win.
3. Questionable Quality Testing
Coal certification relied on laboratories with doubtful or expired accreditation, undermining the credibility of test results.
4. Ignored Discrepancies
Differences between lab reports and actual plant performance were not escalated or acted upon in a timely manner.
5. Acceptance of Substandard Coal
Shipments not meeting calorific value specifications were accepted, reducing generation efficiency.
6. Measurable Financial Loss
Lower-quality coal led to higher consumption for the same output – translating into losses running into billions of rupees.
7. Weak Contract Enforcement
Penalties that should have been imposed on suppliers were not effectively pursued or recovered.
8. Procurement Timing Failures
Critical windows for timely procurement were missed, forcing urgent, less disciplined purchases.
9. Reliance on Underperforming Suppliers
Despite known issues, procurement cycles continued to involve vendors with questionable track records.
10. Fragmented Oversight
Control points across procurement, testing, and acceptance failed to operate cohesively, allowing problems to pass through each layer.
THE MISDIRECTION TO AVOID
There is now a tendency to broaden the scope – examining coal purchases “since inception.” That may have its place for historical context. But it does not answer the immediate question.
The present deviations must be investigated on their own merits.
A wide-angle review cannot become a substitute for a focused inquiry into current failures. Dilution is not investigation.
THE ACCOUNTABILITY TEST
Be that as it may, systems do not fail in abstraction. Decisions are taken. Standards are altered. Signals are ignored. Each step has ownership.
Those responsible must be identified. Enforcement must follow.
Recovery must be pursued.
This is not a matter of technical correction. It is a matter of consequence.
THE PUBLIC INTEREST
Norochcholai is not peripheral to the economy. It is central to power generation. Inefficiency here translates directly into national cost – borne, ultimately, by the public.
The expectation, therefore, is not explanation alone. It is justice that is visible.
