Coal Ministry Panel Probes SCCL Tender Cancellation

HYDERABAD: The Union coal ministry’s two-member technical committee, initiated by Union minister for coal and mines G. Kishan Reddy, continued its investigation into alleged irregularities at Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) on Saturday, focusing on the controversial cancellation of a key tender for the Naini coal mine in Odisha.

The committee, comprising Chetan Shukla, deputy director general in the Coal Ministry, and Marapalli Venkateswarlu, director of the technical division, directed SCCL officials to furnish all documents related to the Naini mine development, operation and maintenance (MDO) tender issued on November 28 last year and later cancelled. Records are being gathered from SCCL’s headquarters in Kothagudem and its Hyderabad office.

Meanwhile, Union minister of state for home Bandi Sanjay Kumar voiced concerns over possible misplacement of records, urging immediate seizure of all relevant documents to ensure transparency. “Fears of records being tampered with or misplaced cannot be ignored; all papers must be secured without delay,” he said.

In a parallel development, Kishan Reddy chaired a high-level meeting with SCCL officials and Coal Ministry representatives in Kothagudem. In a social media post, he said discussions centred on assessing ongoing projects, boosting coal production, safeguarding workers’ futures and enhancing efficiency through technology adoption.

Sources said the committee is also examining utilisation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds and whether approvals bypassed standard procedures. It plans to visit the Naini mine site.

The probe is comparing SCCL’s practices with those of Coal India and Mahanadi Coalfields amid allegations of favouritism in CSR fund sanctions influenced by MLAs, ministers and political leaders.