Singareni RK-7 mine faces closure due to failure to get forest clearances

Forest officials on Saturday issued a notice to close the operation as the company failed to get clearance for its future operations. As per the notice, SCCL is supposed to shut down operations from Monday.

Hyderabad: Forest officials on Saturday issued a notice to close the operation at the north side section of the Srirampur area of Ravindra Khani (RK-7) underground mine of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) situated in Bhupalpally district, as the company failed to get clearance for its future operations. As per the notice, SCCL is supposed to shut down operations from Monday.

According to sources, the forest department had issued the notice two months ago, but the SCCL management ignored it and on Saturday, Mancherial district forest officer Shiv Ashish Singh issued a fresh notice asking the company to stop its operations from Monday.

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Sources say as the North Section was about to be closed, the management was making arrangements to send around 800 of its 1,370 workers who are engaged in Srirampur RK 7 mine on deputation to RK5, SSRP3 and Indaram1A mines in Srirampur area.

Meanwhile, SCCL officials claimed that the RK-7 mine would not be closed and that the management would soon obtain permission to carry on the operations. The officials claimed that securing forest department clearances was a routine exercise and that the mine would not be closed. “The closure of the mine is a false propaganda. We will resolve the issue soon. There is no need to panic. Workers should not worry,” the officials maintained.

While the RK-7 mine produces 1200 tonnes of coal per day, 70 percent of it is coming from the North Section which failed to secure clearance for its future operations.