Hyderabad: Alleging that Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is in serious financial crisis and financial mismanagement, former minister T Harish Rao said dues payable to Singareni had increased alarmingly under the Congress govt. He said dues pending to Singareni stood at only around Rs 2,000 crore in 2014 and later reached around Rs 7,000 crore from TS Genco during the BRS regime. However, he alleged, that in just two-and-a-half years of Congress rule, dues payable to Singareni had risen to nearly Rs 21,000 crore.Speaking at the Telangana Boggugani Karmika Sangam (TBGKS) at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, Harish Rao said that while former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao revived Singareni by providing employment to nearly 19,000 people, the Congress govt was weakening the organisation and threatening existing jobs.“Providing jobs was the work of BRS. Removing jobs has become the work of Congress,” he said. Harish Rao alleged that large-scale irregularities were taking place in Singareni operations and accused the Congress govt of looting the organisation “wherever possible.”He further claimed that pending electricity-related dues alone had crossed Rs 20,000 crore and said the company was being pushed into overdraft despite once maintaining strong fixed deposits.“The state govt Over Draft (OD) is around Rs 3,200 crore, while Singareni’s OD has crossed Rs 4,000 crore,” he said. The ex-minister also raised serious questions regarding coal stock figures shown on the official Singareni website. He claimed the website showed availability of 40 lakh metric tonnes of coal stock and alleged that income tax had also been paid based on the reported revenue from that stock. He demanded clarity on the whereabouts of coal worth nearly Rs 1,600 crore and urged TBGKS to question the management over the issue.He also criticised the government’s decision to move ahead with a solar power project in Jaisalmer near the Pakistan border in partnership with Rajasthan. The BRS deputy leader questioned why the govt was not supporting cheaper power generation through NTPC while allegedly rushing ahead with solar projects even before approvals for the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and PPA were completed. Harish Rao alleged that civil works had begun without proper approvals and accused the government of awarding contracts and taking commissions in the name of delayed thermal power projects.He further alleged that mobilisation advances were being released in solar power tenders to facilitate commissions. He asked union Coal minister G. Kishan Reddy disclose details regarding the missing coal stock and make public the findings of the committee reportedly constituted by the Centre after BRS raised allegations of corruption in coal mines.Ends/
