Harish Rao accuses Congress of cheating Singareni workers with reduced bonus

BRS leader T Harish Rao accused the Congress government of cheating Singareni Collieries workers by cutting their profit share bonus for 2024-25. He said only a fraction of profits was considered for distribution and warned of an agitation if the decision is not reversed

Hyderabad: Former Minister and senior BRS MLA T Harish Rao charged the Congress government with cheating Singareni workers by announcing a bogus bonus for the financial year 2024-25 during the Dasara festive season. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy betrayed the employees’ trust by calculating the bonus on a fraction of profits, effectively reducing profit sharing by half, he said.

Reacting to the profit share bonus of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), Harish Rao pointed out that the company earned a profit of Rs 6,394 crore in 2024-25, yet only Rs 2,360 crore was considered for bonus distribution, with 34 per cent of this figure allocated to employees. “This means the government has effectively cut the workers’ rightful share by half. Sweet promises were made, but bitter news was delivered for Dasara,” he said.

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The former Minister said the Congress cheating of Singareni workers was not new. “Last year too, the Congress reduced the distributable pool, imposed a 50 per cent cut and hoodwinked workers. Now, Rs 4,034 crore has been set aside in the name of future expansion. Whose pockets are being filled with workers’ money?” he asked.

Harish Rao contrasted this with the BRS record and pointed out that former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao revived the loss-making SCCL after achieving Telangana statehood and steadily raised the profit share for employees from 21 per cent in 2014-15 to 32 per cent in 2022-23. “From 1998 to 2011, workers got only a 16 per cent share. It was KCR who raised it in recognition of their role in the Telangana movement. Now, Revanth Reddy is restoring the injustice inflicted by the previous Congress governments in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

On behalf of the BRS, he demanded that instead of a reduced amount after setting aside the expansion budget, the SCCL should declare the promised 34 per cent of the net profit as bonus to Singareni employees and workers. “If this betrayal continues, BRS will launch an agitation on behalf of the workers,” he warned.