Telangana minister KTR accuses Centre of attempting to privatise Singareni Collieries

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], February 7 : Information Technology and Industries minister KT Rama Rao on Monday attacked the Central government alleging that a conspiracy was being hatched to privatize Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) in Telangana.
The minister said "there is a conspiracy going on to privatize SCCL in Telangana. The coal of Singareni Collieries is a big asset for Telangana. People of Telangana will give a befitting reply to BJP for their act of privatizing Singareni," he said.
Rao stated that SCCL is not just a "coal mine but a gold mine" that is giving employment to thousands of youth in the state. Employees of Singareni and the people of Telangana will show their power in Delhi if the Central government continues its attempts to privatize the company.
"This agitation will be much bigger than the agitation staged against the three farm laws," he said.
The state leaders will stand by the Singareni employees in this fight against the Centre. He also expressed his anger over asking the SCCL to participate in the auction for JBROC-3, KK-6, Shravana Pally OC, Koyagudem coal mines instead of allocating them directly to the company.
"The centre is supposed to allocate coal mines to strengthen the Singareni which is running in profits. Instead, they are asking the company to take part in an auction for mines. This is nothing but creating hurdles for Telangana and its development," Roa said.
The minister also wrote a letter to Union Minister Prahlad Joshi, strongly demanding the allocation of coal mines directly to SCCL.
In his letter, Rao stated that in the past seven years SCCL has increased the production from 450 lakh tonnes to 670 lakh tonnes. He also added that coal mining, revenue increase, profits, and expansion of the company also took place highlighting the growth of the company.
The Minister said that the thermal power plant run by SCCL has the best PLF in the country. It is not just providing coal within the state but also to various thermal power plants in Maharashtra and other South Indian states.
Singareni is the only public sector undertaking in the country to contribute 29 per cent of the profits, he said.
Rao accused the Central government further and said it is planning to push Singareni into losses and then privatize it.
"Why the coal mines were not allocated to Singareni directly like the Lignite mines allocated to Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation in Gujarat," he questioned the Centre.
"Under BJP governance, there is one rule for Gujarat and another rule for Telangana. Is the state not a part of India?" he asked further.
The minister said the privatization of PSUs was a threat to the future of thousands of youth, Dalits, and tribals. He described the privatization of public sector enterprises by the Center as a move against Dalits and Bahujans in the country.
The Minister opined that the Centre is not auctioning just the four mines of Singareni, but is auctioning the lives of SCCL workers in the open market.
He expressed concern that Singareni will completely disappear soon if privatized.