Singareni Collieries employees get a fact-check lesson on company profits

Hyderabad:Singareni Collieries chairman and managing director N. Balram on Thursday expressed displeasure over the work culture of the employees and underscored the need for active participation of trade unions along with employees to bring revolutionary changes.

He was addressing the staff on the future of the company and the role of employees, on the instructions from Deputy Chief Minister and energy minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.

Balram said that the company was not getting profits from the production of the coal. “The financial engineering has brought all the changes. Many revolutionary steps were initiated in the last four years. The company with AA- grade has improved as AA+ and financial institutions which refused to provide loans are now roaming around the company to lend. Singareni Collieries intervened to ensure loans to power utilities at cheaper rates, which enabled them to repay their `20,000 crore dues to Singareni” Balram said.

Balram pointed out that the deposits made by the company for its future needs was helping get `900 crore as interest. The company was getting another `500 crore annually from Singareni Thermal Power Centre.

He said the company was losing up to `6,000 loss per tonne of coal. Machines were being used underground mines for hardly six hours per day. He said many power-proders were going to Coal India for cheaper coal.