Centre denies preferential treatment to Gujarat in allotment of lignite mines

The Central govt denied any preferential treatment to the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Limited in allocation of coal/lignite blocks

Hyderabad: The Central government on Friday denied any preferential treatment to the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) Limited in allocation of coal/lignite blocks.

IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao had on Thursday said the Modi government was discriminatory towards Telangana by adopting different rules for Gujarat and Telangana.

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He said a large number of lignite mines were allocated to GMDC following the nomination method, with a similar approach declined for Telangana’s Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).

Responding to the Minister’s statement on Friday, the Coal Ministry issued a statement that there was no special rule or scope of giving special treatment to any one State and that the allegation of preferential treatment to one State was ‘baseless and misleading’. Officials stated that two lignite blocks – Bharkandam lignite block and Panandhro Extension Lignite block – were allotted to GMDC in 2015.

Similarly, three coal blocks were allotted to Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) including Naini coal block in Odisha in August 2015, Pengadappa coal block in Telangana in December 2016, and New Patrapara coal block in Odisha in October 2019, apart from Tadicherla-I in Telangana was allotted to Telengana State Power Generation Limited in August 2015. Of these, the officials said Pengadappa and New Patrapara coal blocks were surrendered by the SCCL under the amnesty scheme of the Central government.

The Naini block allotted to SCCL, has not been operationalised though all clearances were given by the Centre, they claimed, also claiming that no coal/lignite blocks were given through allotment route after the launch of commercial mining to any State or Central PSU.