SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Wednesday demanded that the Centre allocate all coal blocks in the Godavari Valley to the state-owned coal mining company, Singareni Collieries, without the public sector entity having to participate in an auction.
The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is a coal mining company jointly owned by the Government of Telangana and the Government of India on a 51:49 equity basis.
Taking exception to the Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy’s comments in Delhi that the Centre is allotting the Tadicherla-2 block to Singareni in the interests of the firm, he said Tadicherla-2 coal block had already been allotted to Singareni in 2013 during the UPA regime.
What the Union Coal Ministry has now granted is only the mining lease approval and not a fresh allocation, he said.
He said the Centre had delayed granting the lease for the block allotted in 2013 until now. Since the Congress government came to power, it has been continuously writing to the Centre on the issue, he said.
He said, in response to requests made by Singareni to the Union Coal Ministry between 2010 and 2012, the Coal Ministry then allotted the Tadicherla-2 coal block to Singareni on September 16, 2013.
The allocation letter clearly stated that, since the block contains tribal lands, coal mining should be undertaken only by a public sector undertaking, Vikramarka said.
After the Congress government assumed office, he pursued the matter with the Centre by meeting Union Coal Ministers, he said.
He also wrote repeatedly seeking prior approval for the mining lease of the Tadicherla-2 block already allotted to Singareni.
Despite repeated representations, the Centre adopted a delaying approach, he alleged.
Therefore, announcing it now as if it were a fresh allocation is unfortunate. Due to the delay in obtaining mining approvals, Singareni could not commence mining operations in the block, resulting in huge losses to the company, he said.
“If Kishan Reddy truly has concern for Singareni, he should allocate all coal blocks located in the Godavari Valley coalfields to Singareni,” he said.
He said both the state government and Singareni have repeatedly submitted proposals to the Union Coal Ministry mentioning the names of several coal blocks.
He said all coal blocks located in Singareni areas governed by the tribal regulation should be allotted only to Singareni.
Since Singareni is a public sector undertaking, it alone has the legal authority to undertake coal mining in these areas. He said this has been communicated to the Centre through several letters, he added.
SOURCE : SIASAT
