ADILABAD: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Saturday accused the BRS of pushing the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) into losses running into thousands of crores of rupees and weakening it by preventing it from participating in the Koyagudem and Sathupalli coal block auctions. He was speaking after distributing 335 compassionate appointment letters to family members of workers who had taken voluntary retirement.
Bhatti said he had formally requested Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy to reallocate these coal blocks to Singareni, as the private allottees had failed to commence mining operations within the stipulated period.
He assured that applications from other eligible candidates would soon be examined and that appointment letters would be distributed through similar public events. He added that the Singareni management had already been directed to initiate the process.
Asserting that the SCCL belonged to the people of Telangana, he said the government would not allow “brokers”, “vultures” and “exploiters” to ruin the company.
Vikramarka underscored the government’s commitment to workers’ welfare, claiming that no other institution in the country offers accident insurance coverage of `1.25 crore to its employees. He said beneficiaries of the scheme had so far received compensation worth around `40-45 crore.
He said the government had also introduced health insurance coverage of up to Rs 10 lakh for Singareni workers. Earlier, bonus payments were limited to around 40,000 permanent employees. For the first time in the history of the SCCL, about 30,000 contract and outsourcing workers were also paid a bonus of Rs 5,000 each, he said.
Describing the BJP and the BRS as two sides of the same coin, Vikramarka alleged that the two parties had a tacit understanding while pretending to fight publicly.
Referring to the rejection of AICC state in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan’s Rajya Sabha nomination, he accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of using various agencies for its political interests.
Earlier, he laid the foundation stone for the renovation of the Satyanarayana Swamy Temple at Gudem in Dandepalli mandal, along with other development works.
