Hyderabad: Union coal and mines minister G Kishan Reddy on Sunday sought to project the Centre’s direct allotment of the Tadicherla-II coal block to Singareni Collieries as a lifeline for the state-owned miner. He accused successive BRS and Congress govts of failing to safeguard the company’s long-term interests and allowing dues of nearly ₹54,000 crore to accumulate.Addressing Singareni workers and intellectuals in Kothagudem during the BJP’s ‘Singareni Bharosa Yatra’, Kishan said the coal block, allotted without an auction, would help sustain production for the next 40 to 50 years and secure the future of thousands of employees and contract workers dependent on the company.The Union minister said the allotment was significant because the Supreme Court, after scrapping coal block allocations made during the UPA tenure in the wake of the alleged ₹2.6 lakh crore coal scam, had ruled in 2014 that future allocations should be made only through auctions.According to Kishan, Tadicherla-II is the only coal block to have been allotted directly to a public sector company without an auction in the past 11 years. He said the Centre had decided after considering demands raised over nearly two decades by workers, public representatives and political parties.Claiming that Singareni’s revenue and workforce had been shrinking, the minister said the number of employees had fallen from around 70,000 to nearly 40,000, while more than 30,000 contract workers continued to depend on the company for their livelihoods.He blamed the previous BRS govt for failing to utilise opportunities to acquire new coal blocks, even as other public sector firms participated in auctions. He also alleged that Singareni had been prevented from bidding for two coal blocks.Kishan said the Centre had earlier allotted the Naini coal block in Odisha to Singareni to meet Telangana’s power needs, but delays in securing approvals and completing procedures under the then state govt had slowed the project.He said the project gained momentum after the BJP came to power in Odisha and that coal production was expected to begin soon, generating additional revenue for Singareni.Targeting both the previous BRS govt and the current Congress dispensation, the Union minister alleged that the two administrations together owed nearly ₹54,000 crore to Singareni. He urged the state govt to clear the pending dues, saying the money belonged to the company and its workers.Kishan said the Centre would continue to support Singareni’s growth and the welfare of its employees.
