The TRS minister and MLAs accused the BJP led NDA government of trying to privatise the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), the pride of Telangana.
Minister Mr Eswar, MLAs G V Ramana Reddy and Balka Suman and others said the chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had written letter to Prime Minister Mr Modi urging him not to privatise the SCCL in 2015 and 2021.
However, Mr Modi seems to be trying to sell away the company to favour his friendly businessmen. “We will not allow any proposal to sell away the SCCL come what may. The workers and the state government will go to any extent to thwart such attempts,” he said.
Since the TRS took power in Telangana state, the compensation to deceased workers has been raised to Rs 20 from Rs 2 lakh. The government is also extending Rs 10 lakh interest free loan to help them realise the dream of owning a house.
The minister said the SCCL has been doing well in terms of production and profits. The turnover of the company is Rs 27,000 crore in 2021-2022 compared to just 11,928 crore in 2013-2014. The coal production is 670 lakh tonnes in 2021-2022 where as it was just 504 lakh tonnes in 2013-2014.
Mr Eswar asked the unions to stand united and strengthen the hands of state government in saving the SCCL.
By Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao