Kolkata: The central ministry of coal and mines has issued a directive suspending the chairman and managing director of Coal India Ltd (CIL), N K Sharma, with immediate effect for an unspecified period.

Simultaneously, with the suspension order, additional secretary in the ministry Lakshmi Chanda has been asked to officiate as the CIL chairman till an alternative arrangement is made.

All executive powers have been reposed in Chanda so that he can continue with the normal functioning of the Rs 22,000-crore public sector unit, which has seven wholly owned production subsidiaries and a design and planning institute.

Though no reason was mentioned in the suspension order, informed sources say Sharma has been put under suspension till the corruption-related allegations made against him by certain quarters are investigated by the Central Bureau Intelligence.