Kishan Reddy demands probe into irregularities committed by BRS in SCCL
HYDERABAD: Union minister for coal and mines G. Kishan Reddy strongly condemned rumours being spread by BRS and other political parties that Singareni Collieries (SCCL) would be privatised by the Centre. He asked the A. Revanth Reddy government to order a full-fledged probe into the blatant political interference by the then chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his family members, ministers and MLAs and their massive loot that led the state to a debt-trap.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Reddy said that the Centre would write a letter to the state government seeking a comprehensive probe on how BRS rule had ruined SCCL, which had `3,500 crore surplus reserves fund in April 2014 and issued an open quotation seeking to deposit the same in a financial firm or a bank offering the highest interest rate.
“The chaotic financial policies led to bankruptcy and the company failed to pay salaries to its employees in time. The TS-Genco alone owed `8,056 crore to Singareni as of March 31, 2024. The Telangana government has an overall due of `30,000 crore to Singareni towards coal and power supply. Had KCR government cleared the power subsidies to Transco and Genco, the financial condition of power companies could have been healthier and Singareni Company could get its dues from the power companies,” he pointed out.
Kishan Reddy charged that after the BRS government had issued a circular to SCCL to follow the protocol for sarpanchs, MLAs and Ministers, its management landed in such a helpless situation that it was forced to run around K. Chandrashekar Rao’s kin to get their nod to change the shift of some employees, he said
Chandrshekar Rao always used Singareni for political gains by raking up sentiments, but was never interested in strengthening it. He was more interested in privatising the company to make money out of it.
The coal minister said that the Centre had conducted auctions of 107 coal blocks in nine rounds so far and state governments have earned `37,000 crore so far as the respective state gets 14 per cent royalty from coal mining. The Centre gets zero financial gains from the auctions, he said.
Meanwhile, he informed that he will ask Geological Survey of India (GSI) to conduct a study in the entire Godavari basin in Telangana to spot new coal reserves, as it would help increase coal production and job opportunities in the region.
On the Centre’s move to increase the MSP of 13 crops, Reddy pointed out that the MSP for paddy stood at `1300 in 2014, but within 10 years after the Narendra Modi government came to power, the MSP for paddy increased by `1000. The government increased `500 on cotton and the new MSP for cotton is Rs 7121 per quintal, he said.