HYDERABAD: The worst fears of employees of 100-year-old Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) have come true as a coal mine was recently auctioned and awarded to a private player for the first time. According to the SCCL employees, the Koyagudem coal block in Yellandu was allotted to a private player for a period of 10 years. Interestingly, only a single bid was received during the tender process.
According to sources, the auction was conducted thrice for the Koyagudem coal block. The officials had to cancel the first and second rounds as only one company submitted the bid. When the tender was floated for the third time, the same company filed the bid and the officials allotted the block to the lone bidder.
Stating that this was for the first time that a coal block was allotted to a private player, Telangana Boggu Gani Karmeeka Sangham (TBGKS) leader Kengerla Mallaiah expressed fear that there won’t be any further expansion by the SCCL. “With the privatisation of coal blocks, there will be no further expansion by Singareni. There will be no recruitment in SCCL either,” he said.
It may be mentioned here that SCCL is the first public sector company in the country. Currently, 45,000 employees are working at different mines of SCCL, which produces around 65 million tonnes of coal per year and caters to the needs of thermal power plants in Telangana, AP, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.The State government holds 51 per cent stake while the Central government has 49 per cent share in the company.
In December, 2021, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to instruct the Union Coal Ministry to stop the auction of JBROC-3, Sravanpally OC, Koyagudem OC-3 and KK-6 UG Block under Union Ministry’s trench 13, as it would adversely impact the needs under Singareni jurisdiction for coal.
Rao wanted the Centre to allot these coal blocks to the SCCL. The blocks have been included in e-auction under Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act.Meanwhile, Singareni Collieries Staff and Workers Union (INTUC) general secretary B Janak Prasad said that this for the first time a coal block was allotted to the private player under the Central government’s new policy which adopted back in 2015.
“At that time, the TRS MPs supported the Bill in the Parliament,” he said.
However, SCCL chairman and managing director N Sridhar was not available for comment.To a question raised by Congress MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said: “SCCL has intimated that they have permitted single bidder having Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) experience with certain financial and technical credential. Further, the bidder is allowed to form SPV with other agencies with a stake up to 49 per cent, retaining 51 per cent stake with the bidder at the time of project agreement”.
Besides, the SCCL is selecting MDO through competitive bidding process and five firms have submitted bids for selection of MDO for Naini coal mine in Odisha.It was the Hyderabad (Deccan) Company Limited, incorporated in England that acquired mining rights in 1886 to exploit coal found in Yellandu area. The present company was incorporated on December 23, 1920 under the Hyderabad Companies Act as a public limited company.