WCL Beats All Three Coal Targets in April-October 2026

Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited under the Ministry of Coal, was the only arm of the company to go past its targets on all three main operational counts during April to October 2026. It achieved 102.47% of its production target, 108.82% of its offtake target and 104.56% of its overburden removal target.

The seven-month numbers

The extra 4.53 MT the company produced over the period was larger than the whole of Coal India's net production growth in the same months.

A strong October

October was the company's best stretch. Production rose to 5.93 MT from 3.60 MT a year earlier, a jump of 64.87%, the highest among the major subsidiaries, and 108.60% of the monthly target. Offtake climbed to 6.67 MT from 4.44 MT, a rise of 50.16%, and WCL was the only major subsidiary to beat its monthly offtake target at 102.40%. It had also led its peers on both production and offtake growth in September 2026.

Clearing the pithead stock

Pithead coal stock was cut from 13.034 MT on 1 April 2026 to 4.44 MT by 31 October, a liquidation of about 8.6 MT, or roughly two-thirds of the opening stock. Closer work with the Railways on rake placement and loading made the difference: 6,146 rakes were loaded up to 31 October against 4,402 a year earlier, a rise of 39.6%. Rake loading to the power sector grew 40.8%, with supplies to MAHAGENCO particularly strong. The additional rakes sent to MAHAGENCO alone are estimated to have supported about 5,800 million units of extra power generation in Maharashtra.

How it was done, and the bottom line

The company attributes the result to daily review of production and despatch at mine level, regular meetings with Area General Managers and frequent visits by senior management, which shortened the time taken to clear bottlenecks. During 2026-27 it has secured four environmental clearances or amendments and two forest clearances. Six Surface Miners and three Continuous Miners are in use, around 86% of sampled coal was confirmed at its declared grade, and October despatches achieved full net realisation with no debit loss. Profit before tax for April to September 2026 stood at Rs 1,352.26 crore, a growth of 76.3% over the same period a year earlier.