Bhatti seeks all Godavari Valley coal blocks for Singareni

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka urged the Centre to allocate all Godavari Valley coal blocks exclusively to SCCL, opposed auctions in tribal areas, and said the Tadicherla-2 approval was a delayed mining lease for a block allotted in 2013.

Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Wednesday urged the Centre to allocate all coal blocks in the Godavari Valley exclusively to the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL). He demanded that the BJP-led Central government prove its commitment to the State-owned mining company by adopting a government-to-government approach and allocating all coal blocks in the Godavari Valley directly to Singareni instead of auctioning them.

Addressing a press conference here, Bhatti Vikramarka clarified that the Tadicherla-2 coal block was not a fresh allocation to SCCL, as claimed by Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy, but a mining lease approval for a block that had already been allotted to the company in 2013. He alleged that the Centre had delayed granting the mining lease for years despite repeated representations.

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While welcoming the lease approval, he said the delay had prevented SCCL from commencing mining operations, resulting in substantial financial losses.

The Deputy Chief Minister also objected to the auction of coal blocks in tribal areas, including the Koyagudem-3 Open Cast Block and the Manuguru Open Cast Dip Side Mine, contending that such auctions violate the provisions of the 1/70 Tribal Act. Since SCCL is a public sector undertaking, he argued that it alone should take up mining operations in these areas. He demanded that the Centre reclaim coal blocks that were already allotted to private entities but where mining had not been taken up and transfer them to SCCL.