Centre sticks to its stand on coal auction

Hyderabad: The BJP government at the Centre continued with its rigid stance on its decision to auction four coal blocks in SCCL area in Telangana, despite repeated requests by the State government to stop the auction. Coal Minister Prahlad Joshi, defending the Union government’s decision to auction the coal blocks, said on Monday that it […]

Hyderabad: The BJP government at the Centre continued with its rigid stance on its decision to auction four coal blocks in SCCL area in Telangana, despite repeated requests by the State government to stop the auction. Coal Minister Prahlad Joshi, defending the Union government’s decision to auction the coal blocks, said on Monday that it was being done as per the Central government’s policy.

The assertion by the Union Minister in Parliament comes even as about 50,000 SCCL workers, who went on a 72-hour strike last week in protest against the decision, threatened to take their protest to New Delhi. The SCCL employees’ unions have demanded that the Centre allocate the four blocks to SCCL.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to direct the Coal Ministry to withdraw the four blocks – Kalyan Khani Block-6 Underground, Koyagudem Open Cast-3, JBROC-3 or Sathupalli Open Cast-3 and Shravanapalli Open Cast – from Tranche 13, for which electronic auctions have been scheduled for January. TRS MPs too took up the issue with the Coal Ministry, but in vain.

Replying to the issue raised by Congress MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, Joshi asserted that allocation of coal blocks was not being done arbitrarily and even the allocations to States was being made by inviting applications. “Now the auction regime has begun to ensure transparency in coal block allocations,” he said, adding that the Centre was going ahead with the auction. He also said the UPA regime policy of allocation route would not be followed by the BJP government.

He even went on to term the strike by SCCL employees as State-sponsored and said rather than approaching the Union Minister or the officials concerned, the State government was unfortunately sponsoring the strike. “This strike is against national interest and is detrimental to the company as well,” he added.

Raising the issue, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the people of Telangana were strongly objecting to the auction of the four coal blocks which are located within SCCL area. Terming the decision for auction as irrational and objectionable, he demanded that the government cancel the auction and allocate these four blocks to SCCL. He pointed out that nearly 50,000 SCCL workers were on a strike which in turn was causing loss of Rs 120 crore per day to the company.

Union condemns ‘provocative’ statement

The employees’ unions of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) said the Centre was resorting to repressive measures against Telangana State on the issue of auction of four coal blocks in Singareni.

“The statement made by the Union Coal and Mines Minister Prahalad Joshi in Lok Sabha on Monday that the Centre would go ahead with its policy of auctioning coal blocks was nothing but provocative,” Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham general secretary M Rajreddy said, responding to Joshi’s statement.

Alleging that the Centre was adopting dual standards with respect to auction of coal blocks, Rajreddy said the unions will not hesitate to go on an indefinite strike if the Centre fails to withdraw the auction move.

In coordination with all the unions in Singareni, a massive protest would also be organised at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to exert pressure on the Centre to withdraw the proposed auction of the four coal blocks in Singareni, he said.

A protest would be organised in front of the office of Union Coal and Mines Minister in New Delhi. Drawing inspiration from farmers who forced the Centre to withdraw farm laws through their protests, the unions in Singareni will also continue with their agitation till the Centre withdraws the move, Rajreddy added.

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