Interview Times 
Soon after assuming charge as the Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), OP Singh has articulated a vision and commitment to exalt MCL to the number one slot.
“Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) will emerge as a Numero Uno coal company in 2022 and achieve new milestones”, he said.
Singh recently chaired a meeting of with area GMs, members of joint consultative committee (JCC) and welfare board.
He highlighted the pivotal role that MCL played during the pandemic last year, further assuring that the company would remain the flag bearer of Coal India in the year ahead.
Singh also appreciated the synergy between workers, officers and trade union representatives in the company and informed that a new department of Civil-Welfare has been created at the headquarters to look after the welfare of the employees and town administration.
While MCL would continue to excel in all parameters vis-à-vis production, dispatch and overburden removal, Singh said, “Safety of workers and employee welfare measures are to be considered as priority areas.”
O P SINGH- CMD-MCL
In this regard, he informed that a new department of Civil-Welfare has been created at MCL headquarters to look after the welfare of the employees and town administration.
Earlier, Singh was received by Keshav Rao, Director (Personnel) and P K Patel, CVO, on his arrival to assume charge of the CMD.
He also inspected the ceremonial guard of honour and visited various departments at headquarters to extend New Year greetings to the officers and staff.
Before joining MCL as Director (Technical) in 2016, Singh had served for more than 32 years in Bilaspur (CG)-headquartered South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) and Coal Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDI), Bilaspur.
A mining engineer with a First Class competency certificate from the DGMS, an MBA in Marketing and PG DCA, Singh has held various senior positions in mine planning and production management in both underground and opencast projects during his long experience of about 37 years in the coal industry.
Director (Technical), Coal India Limited B Veera Reddy recently lauded Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) for excellent performance in coal production and contributing a major chunk to the country’s energy needs.
Reddy, on a two-day tour to MCL on Friday, visited coal mining projects and upcoming infrastructure projects under Ib Valley coalfields in Jharsuguda and Sundergarh districts of Odisha. He also chaired a review meeting with Chairman and Managing Director, MCL OP Singh. He appreciated the consistent performance by MCL despite various challenges.
“I congratulate on your excellent teamwork and ensuring scaled up coal production and enhanced despatches to meet the growing energy demands of the nation,” he said. Emphasizing the need to innovate in equipment and processes in business operations, Reddy added that there was a need to introduce new machines and innovative techniques to improve productivity of underground operations. He encouraged MCL to further improve departmental equipment utilisation up to 80 per cent capacity.
MCL recently received the award from the Government of India for distinguished performance in the national campaign for Clean India and Swachhta Pakhwara-2021-22.
The MCL CMD felicitated the winners RK Panigrahi, General Manager (CSR) in the presence of KR Vasudevan, Director (Finance), Keshav Rao, Director (Personnel), PK Patel, Chief Vigilance Officer and Jugal Kumar Borah, Director (Technical/Projects & Planning).
The CMD appreciated the team CSR and Area teams for the achievement and said, “This award from the Government of India is not just recognition of your good work for Swachhata, but has also set a new standard for the work in the area of community development.”
Singh expressed his confidence in team MCL for continuing with efforts to improve the quality of life in peripheral areas.
MCL, the leading coal-producing subsidiary of Coal India Limited, under Ministry of Coal, Government of India, achieved the highest ever coal production of 45.36 million tonnes (MT) in April-June Quarter/ Q1 of FY ‘22-23. MCL produced 15.49 MT coal in June 2022, the highest ever in the month of June.
“The growth attained by MCL is a result of excellent teamwork and coordination among different teams at all levels in the company,” said OP Singh, while congratulating his teams, reserving special appreciation for the those in coalfields for exceeding expectations.
Singh also expressed his gratitude to people’s representatives, administration, representatives of trade unions, peripheral villagers and all stakeholders for their continuous support to the company. MCL registered OBR at 16.68 Million Cubic Meters in the month of June 2022 as it posted the highest ever OBR figures of 51.80 MCuM for the Q1 of FY’23 with a growth of 19.6 per cent.Coal despatch of 48.01 MT to consumers in Q1 of the current fiscal was also the highest ever in the history of the company, registering a growth of 22.1 per cent over the same period during FY’22.
