HYDERABAD: Asserting that there was no ‘coal scam’, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Friday directed the SCCL director (Vigilance) to probe the alleged disappearance of 40 lakh tonnes of coal in Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).
Speaking to reporters here, Vikramarka, who also holds the Finance and Energy portfolios, said the inquiry was aimed at putting to rest any doubts among the public. He said the SCCL Vigilance director would gather all details and submit a comprehansive report to the government, adding that the system in SCCL was foolproof and that not even a single kg of coal could leave the company unaccounted for.
The move follows allegations by the BRS that a Rs 1,600 crore coal stock scam took place in Singareni. In separate letters, BRS working president KT Rama Rao urged the Centre to intervene, alleging SCCL had paid coal cess and I-T on coal that was not physically available, while Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy asked Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to look into the allegations.
Vikramarka, however, argued that the larger issue lay elsewhere. Alleging that the previous BRS government had remained in power for 10 years and initiated the construction of two thermal power plants without starting new coal mines under SCCL, he asked, “How could the new thermal power plants get coal without new mines being opened while old mines were being closed?”
The deputy chief minister also turned the spotlight on the state’s debt burden, challenging BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to a debate in the Assembly. He alleged that Rama Rao was responsible for looting the state and said the former chief minister alone should participate in the debate.
Vikramarka claimed the BRS government had raised debts of Rs 8,21,651 crore, while the Congress government had repaid Rs 2,08,681 crore over the past two and a half years.
We restructured debts, saved Rs 22K cr: Bhatti
Vikramarka further alleged that the BRS had raised loans at interest rates of up to 10.5%. “We have restructured that debt at low interest rates. As a result, the amount due for repayment by 2034 was reduced from 34,058 crore to just 11,000 crore.
Thus, the Congress government saved `22,142 crore,” he claimed. On the allegations of a scam in the procurement of items for Gurukuls, Vikramarka denied any wrongdoing.
Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Adluri Lakshman, who were present at the press meet, said tenders worth `1,142 crore had been invited for the procurement. However, they said the BRS alleged a scam worth `2,400 crore.