HYDERABAD: The Ministry of Coal on Thursday constituted a two-member technical team to visit the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) to identify the reasons for the cancellation of the Naini coal block tender.
The state government had recently cancelled the Naini coal block tender following allegations of irregularities reported in a section of the media.
Following the allegations and the cancellation of the tender, Coal India held a meeting on Wednesday. Later, Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy said the Centre would take over SCCL if the state government handed it over. He also said the Centre would examine a proposal by the state government to constitute a CBI probe into the episode related to the Naini coal block tender in Odisha.
In an office memorandum issued on Thursday, Coal India said the technical team was constituted on the directions of the Minister of Coal to examine and analyse the Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) published on November 28, 2025, for the appointment of a Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) for the Naini coal block.
Central team to also inspect CSR spending
The committee comprises Chetna Shukla, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Coal, and Marapally Venkateshwarlu, Director (T/NA), Ministry of Coal.
The terms of reference include analysis of the NIT for the appointment of the MDO for the Naini coal block and identification of the reasons that led to the cancellation of the tender process.
The team will also compare practices adopted by other coal companies in the preparation of NITs for MDOs and outsourcing works for coal extraction.
The technical team will further examine whether the CSR spending pattern and quantum are in accordance with statutory provisions. The team has been asked to visit the SCCL headquarters immediately and submit its report within three days, Coal India said.