9 New Coal Projects to Sustain Singareni's Future
Acting on these instructions, SCCL has submitted proposals to the Union coal, forest and environment ministries and is fast‑tracking environmental and forest clearances to expedite approvals.
Hyderabad:The state government has issued clear directions for the creation of nine new coal mines under Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) to secure the company’s long‑term future and ensure continuous fuel supply and employment in the state. Acting on these instructions, SCCL has submitted proposals to the Union coal, forest and environment ministries and is fast‑tracking environmental and forest clearances to expedite approvals.
The move comes against the backdrop of several existing Singareni mines set to end production by 2027–28, which would otherwise leave a gap of about 12.51 million tonnes of annual coal output. The nine new projects — including both open‑cast and underground mines — are expected to compensate for this loss and sustain Singareni’s output at current levels for at least another two decades, thereby safeguarding jobs for lakhs of workers and supporting state power and industrial needs.
Among the key projects highlighted are the VK Coal Mine in Kothagudem, which sits on nearly 190 million tonnes of reserves and is nearing production launch after completing most clearances, and several open‑cast projects such as JK Open‑Cast (Illandu), Ramagundam OC‑1 expansion, Golapalli, MVK, Manuguru OC‑extension, RKP OC‑2 and PK Coal Mine at Kondapur, together holding over 400 million tonnes of coal.
Deputy Chief Minister and energy minister Bhatti Vikramarka has already secured approvals for three mines and personally visited the national capital twice to press Union ministries for early permission.
Chief managing director Dr B. Prakash Jyothi chaired a special review meeting on Saturday evening with senior directors, zone heads and forest and marketing officials to fix timelines for commissioning three new mines this year and another two next year. Officials have been directed to conclude all remaining statutory clearances, accelerate overburden removal and ramp up infrastructure works so that the new mines can feed into the state’s power and industrial grids without disruption.
With this new‑mine pipeline, the government aims to insulate Singareni from the depletion of legacy pits and keep Telangana’s coal‑based energy and job ecosystem intact for the future.
