Kishan Reddy pushes Naini coal block probe into Congress govt’s court

Union Coal Minister Kishan Reddy said the Centre would consider a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the Naini coal block only if the Telangana government sought it. He accused the State of delaying tenders and alleged misuse of the ‘site visit certificate’ clause

New Delhi: Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday pushed the issue of a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities in the Naini coal block into the Congress government’s court, stating that the Centre would consider such a probe only if the State itself sought it. He claimed that the Centre had no authority over Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) without the State’s consent.

Speaking to the media in New Delhi, Kishan Reddy accused the Congress government of treating SCCL as a golden goose and weakening the public sector undertaking. At the same time, he made it clear that the Centre would not initiate a CBI inquiry on its own. “For a CBI probe, the State government’s permission is mandatory. If Telangana comes forward, the Centre is ready,” he said, adding that he was being unnecessarily pulled into the issue.

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The Union Minister said the Centre had allocated the Naini coal block to Telangana to meet the State’s power requirements and had obtained all necessary clearances, including approvals from Odisha government. “But the State government is delaying the finalisation of tenders,” he said.

Questioning the controversial ‘site visit certificate’ clause, Kishan Reddy said site visits were meant to be self-certified by bidders and asked why Singareni was being pressured to issue certificates. He alleged that this indicated an attempt to favour select private parties and hand over coal blocks to them.

He said although the Centre holds a 49 per cent stake in Singareni, operational control lies entirely with the Telangana government, with the CMD (Chairman and Managing Director) and majority of directors appointed by the State government. He alleged that Singareni had become a political laboratory under Congress rule.