Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately stall the auction of four coal blocks belonging to Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) by the Union Coal Ministry. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Chandrashekhar Rao said SCCL was playing a key role in meeting the coal requirements of thermal power stations in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, by producing 65 million tonnes of coal per annum.
He emphasised the need for an uninterrupted supply of coal to various thermal power plants in Telangana in the wake of increased power consumption in the State with the maximum power demand rising from 5,661 MW in June 2014 to 13,688 MW in March 2021.
He said the Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) and other coal miners unions of SCCL have called for a three-day strike commencing Thursday in protest against the auction of coal blocks. They served a strike notice to the company management demanding withdrawal of four blocks — Kalyan Khani Block-6 Underground, Koyagudem Open Cast-3, JBROC-3 or Sathupalli Open Cast-3 and Shravanapalli Open Cast — from the auction to be conducted by the Coal Ministry.
Chandrashekhar Rao said the State government had sanctioned several mining leases to Singareni to meet the rising coal requirements, which were also approved by the Union Coal Ministry. He urged the Prime Minister to intervene and direct the Coal Ministry to suspend the auction of the four blocks that are to be auctioned under Tranche-13, as it would have an adverse impact on the coal demand in the Singareni area. Instead, he requested Prime Minister Modi to ensure the allocation of these blocks to SCCL.
Also read: SCCL trade unions’ 72-hr strike from December 9
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