Kishan Reddy slams BRS, Cong govts over 'negligence, misuse' of Singrareni Collieries funds
Addressing a gathering at the district headquarters town of Kothagudem as part of his 'Singareni Bharosa Yatra, he said the NDA government at the Centre has directly allocated the Tadicharla-2 coal block to Singareni, bypassing the auction process to help the government company and its workers.
Hyderabad: Accusing the BRS and Congress of "negligence" and "misuse of funds" at the state-run Singareni Collieries Ltd, Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy on Monday said the Centre would extend support to the state-run miner and the welfare of its employees.The Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) is a government coal mining company jointly owned by the Telangana government and union government on a 51:49 equity basis.
Addressing a gathering at the district headquarters town of Kothagudem as part of his 'Singareni Bharosa Yatra, he said the NDA government at the Centre has directly allocated the Tadicharla-2 coal block to Singareni, bypassing the auction process to help the government company and its workers.
It is the only coal block allocated to a mining company without the auction process, he said.
This marks an exception to the 2014 Supreme Court mandate that requires all coal blocks to be distributed through auction in the wake of a coal scam during the previous UPA regime.
The newly allocated coal block would help Singareni sustain production for about 40-50 years, he said.
Noting that Singareni is beset with problems, he said its production, revenue and number of employees have seen a steady decline.
According to him, Singareni needs new coal blocks to function smoothly. The previous BRS government is responsible for this situation.
While several state-run mining companies, including Coal India and Western Coalfields, participated in the auction for new blocks, the former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao "arrogantly" barred Singareni from taking part in the auction process.
On his representation, Reddy said Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to allot the Tadicharla-2 coal block to Singareni, after a formal clearance was obtained from the Ministry of Law.
Though the Centre is holding 49 per cent equity in Singareni, it is not involved in the company's administration, he said.
"Whether the previous government or the present government, (they are) looting the hard work of Sigareni in the form of commissions," he said.
Charging the BRS and Congress governments with "misusing" Singareni funds, he alleged that the money of the mining firm was diverted by the Congress government to sponsor a football match in Hyderabad featuring global legend Lionel Messi.
"Can the state government meet the expenditure from its own budget?" he asked.
Slamming both the previous BRS regime and the current Congress government for crippling Singareni's finances by withholding payments for the coal supplied to the state's power generation corporation, he said the outstanding dues accumulated under previous governments have now touched Rs 54,000 crores.
Reddy said the Centre makes prompt payments to state-run firms such as NTPC and Coal India, assuring that the Centre supports Singareni and the growth of railways and others in the region. PTI SJR SJR ROH
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