SCCL trade union polls postponed

The trade union polls in the State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) have been postponed by two months.

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday postponed the trade union polls in the State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) by two months. Ending the stalemate over the conduct of elections for the recognized trade union in the company, a Division bench comprising of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice N V Shravan Kumar passed the verdict while dealing with an appeal filed by the SCCL, which had challenged a single judge order directing to conduct elections on October 28.

The postponement was made in view of elections to the State Legislative Assembly scheduled for November 30. The bench also directed the SCCL to furnish an upgraded voter list by November 30 and to conduct elections on December 27 and to declare the results on same day. The bench further directed the State government to provide cooperation to SCCL and make necessary arrangements in order to conduct the trade union elections in a fair manner and directed the Secretary of the Energy Department to submit an affidavit on Thursday on making necessary arrangements. The bench accordingly posted the matter to December 29.

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The mining activity of the Singareni Collieries has been spread over six districts. The district collectors and the superintendents of police of the districts concerned have expressed their inability to ensure effective bandobust for the trade union polls as the Assembly elections are notified in the State. They wanted the trade union polls to be scheduled after the Assembly polls. The counsel for SCCL also pointed out that 13 out of 20 Trade Unions have approved for extension of time in conducting the elections.

Three of the districts were considered to be sensitive in view of the impact of left wing extremist groups, it was argued. The coal miners of the Singareni Collieries have their presence in as many as 13 assembly constituencies spread over the six districts.