Harish Rao demands debate on multi-crore Singareni irregularities in Assembly

BRS leader T Harish Rao accused the Telangana government of mismanaging SCCL through alleged irregularities in contracts, coal production, power projects and recruitment. He demanded a special Assembly session, an independent probe and immediate elections in Singareni while backing workers' concerns

Hyderabad: Escalating the offensive against the Congress government, former Minister and BRSLP deputy leader T Harish Rao accused the Revanth Reddy government of pushing the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) into a financial and administrative crisis. He challenged the Chief Minister to convene a special Assembly session on Singareni.

He held Revanth Reddy responsible for a series of alleged irregularities in contracts, coal production, power projects and recruitment in SCCL. Citing documentary evidence obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) Act over the past six months, he vowed to substantiate every allegation with proof and offered to resign if any of his claims were proven false.

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Addressing a Singareni workers’ meeting at Kyathanpally in Mancherial district on Wednesday, Harish Rao said Singareni had witnessed unprecedented political interference under the present Congress government, accusing it of turning the public sector coal miner into a hub of scams. He charged the ruling Congress with irregularities in overburden (OB) removal tenders through the introduction of a “Site Visit Certificate” condition to favour select contractors. He also questioned the award of tenders at allegedly inflated rates and demanded their cancellation.

The former Minister pointed to large-scale financial irregularities in solar power projects, stating that Singareni invested in high-cost plants despite the State power utility indicating that it would not procure surplus electricity. He also questioned the stalled Jaipur thermal power project, alleging that the absence of statutory approvals had left the project in limbo while causing heavy financial losses to the company.

He raised fresh questions over around 40 lakh metric tonnes of coal worth around Rs 1,600 crore allegedly missing from stockyards, declining coal production, shrinking coal stocks at power plants and the deterioration in the ranking of the Singareni Thermal Power Plant. He also questioned alleged irregularities in diesel procurement, gelatin stick purchases and mounting debt, adding that the company had moved from healthy reserves to heavy borrowings under the Congress regime.

Harish Rao accused the government of neglecting dependent employment for workers’ families, delaying promotions and ignoring employees’ grievances. He reiterated the BRS’s demand for immediate elections in Singareni, extended support to protesting workers and urged both the State and Union governments to order an independent probe, including a CBI or Central Vigilance Commission investigation, into the alleged irregularities. He also accused both governments of failing to safeguard the interests of Singareni and its workforce.