Coal testing official cannot account for changes in quality data

A key witness appearing before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into controversial coal transactions said he could not explain how critical quality indicators for imported coal shipments changed after the deal drew public scrutiny.

Rohan Jeewantha, Sri Lanka local manager for Cotecna India, the agency responsible for testing the coal, made the admission while answering questions about the gross calorific value, a key measure of coal quality.

Jeewantha said he could not account for discrepancies in the calorific values reported after concerns emerged over the quality of the imported coal.

He told the commission that his involvement ended after samples collected during the unloading of coal in Sri Lanka were sent to Cotecna’s laboratory in India.

Jeewantha said he had no direct role in the technical testing carried out at the laboratory.

He also acknowledged that he could not rule out the possibility of direct communication between coal suppliers and the laboratory in India.

Describing his duties as mainly administrative, Jeewantha said he endorsed the test reports sent by the Indian laboratory and forwarded them to the Lakvijaya Power Plant.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake appointed the commission to investigate alleged irregularities in coal procurement.

Supreme Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga chairs the three-member commission, which also includes High Court Judges Aditya Patabendige and Sanjeeva Somaratne.