KCR said while the inefficient Congress governments gave away 49 per cent of the stakes in Singareni to the Centre, PM Modi is asking the State government to shutdown the company mines and import coal from abroad
Published Date – 07:48 PM, Fri – 24 November 23
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Hyderabad: BRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao upped the ante against the Congress and the BJP for attempts to weaken the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), posing a threat to livelihood of thousands of employees and workers. He said while the inefficient Congress governments gave away 49 per cent of the stakes in the company to the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is asking the State government to shutdown the company mines and import coal from abroad.
Instead, the BRS government has been making efforts to strengthen the Singareni company and expand its operations by taking up new mines in India and abroad, the Chief Minister declared. While the union government failed to construct a steel factory at Bayyaram which was promised under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, the BRS government was planning to allot the iron ore mines to Singareni for mining.
“We are making efforts to expand the SCCL operations beyond coal mining as we have efficient manpower and machinery. We even attempted to acquire some mines in Australia and Indonesia, but had to drop the plans after coal prices crashed in international markets. However, we will continue to explore opportunities to expand the company’s operations,” he declared.
He was addressing massive Praja Ashirvada Sabha poll rallies held at Mancherial, Ramagundam, Mulugu and Kothagudem constituencies, which are predominantly coal mining areas, on Friday. Notwithstanding the rain, people turned up for these meetings in large numbers, especially at Mulugu and Kothagudem.
Speaking on the occasion, Chandrashekhar Rao reminded that SCCL was a pride of Telangana, with 130 years of history. Founded by the Nizams of Hyderabad State, the company was fully state-owned before the Hyderabad State was merged in Andhra Pradesh. “But the inefficient Congress rulers obtained loans from the Centre and were unable to repay. They destroyed the Singareni due to their inability to run it and gave away 49 per cent share to the Centre in lieu of the loans obtained,” he said.
He said only after the BRS government was formed, the company which was neck-deep in Rs 600 crore losses, was revived and transformed into a company with Rs 2,200 crore in profits. “Recently, the Singareni management released Rs 1,000 crore as bonus and profit share, with each Singareni worker getting Rs 1.8-2 lakh. Under the BRS regime, the profit share of employees and workers was increased from 18 per cent to 32 per cent,” he pointed out.
Apart from reviving the dependent jobs system which was stopped during the Congress era, the BRS government provided 15,000 jobs to dependents of mining workers. In case of any beneficiary opting out of the scheme, the SCCL management is providing Rs 25 lakh compensation. Further, an interest free home loan of Rs 10 lakh is also being extended to the Singareni workers.
Targeting his guns at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chandrashekhar Rao said the Telangana Assembly passed a resolution requesting the Centre to exclude the Singareni workers from income tax payment and sent it to the Prime Minister. “But Prime Minister Modi did not respond to our requests. Instead, he is asking us to close Singareni and import coal from Adani Group’s coal mines in Australia. Why should we close a State-run company and import coal for a higher price,” he questioned.
He asked people not to vote for the BJP which has not given a single medical college or a Navodaya School to Telangana in last 10 years. “Why should people cast even one vote for a party with zero contribution to Telangana’s growth? A vote for them is like dropping it in drainage,” he mocked.
