Hyderabad: Alleging that the Congress govt has pushed Singareni into a crisis through a series of scams, corruption and political interference, former minister T Harish Rao demanded a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).Speaking at the Singareni workers’ conference organised by the BRS at the party office in Bhupalpally on Friday, Harish Rao presented a detailed PowerPoint presentation highlighting what he described as major irregularities in the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).“Singareni, which once had healthy fixed deposits and strong finances, has now been pushed into a debt trap. In just two-and-a-half years, the livelihoods of workers have been put at risk,” he said. Harish asserted that the issue was not related to any one union or political party but concerned the future of Telangana as a whole.He alleged that corruption had spread across multiple sectors in Singareni, including overburden removal contracts, solar power projects, thermal power projects, explosives procurement, diesel purchases and coal stock accounting.The ex-minister said the BRS govt had provided compassionate appointments to nearly 16,000 dependents of Singareni workers and accused the Congress govt of attempting to block those appointments through inquiries and administrative hurdles.“The state govt failed to conduct medical boards on time, causing hardship to workers and their families. The recent announcement by Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka regarding 400 pending compassionate appointments was a direct result of pressure created by the BRS and workers’ unions,” he said.Harish Rao alleged that a “Site Visit Certificate” system was introduced in Singareni after the Congress govt came to power and that it was being used to benefit select contractors. He pointed out that such a system did not exist in Coal India, Western Coalfields or during the BRS govt.Making allegations on in solar power projects undertaken by Singareni, he claimed that despite electricity utilities indicating that additional solar power was not required, contracts were awarded for 67 MW and 107 MW solar projects at inflated costs.“While a solar project could be established at around ₹3 crore per MW, contracts were awarded at much higher rates, resulting in hundreds of crores in additional expenditure. the 67 MW project, built at a cost of around ₹480 crore, had remained non-operational for nearly two years without synchronisation or a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Similar issues, he said, existed with the 107 MW project,” he said.He cited RTI data and claimed that while dues owed to Singareni by power utilities stood at around ₹7,000 crore during ten years of BRS rule, the amount had risen sharply during the Congress government’s tenure. Harish Rao questioned the financial management of Singareni and sought answers on the utilisation of nearly ₹6,000 crore reportedly set aside under future development plans.“If Singareni has surplus funds, why has it fallen into debt and why has its overdraft crossed ₹4,300 crore?” he asked.Harish Rao concluded by calling upon workers to unite to protect Singareni and declared that the BRS would continue its fight against corruption and attempts to weaken the institution.
