Hyderabad: BRS MLA and former minister T Harish Rao on Wednesday extended his support to the agitating Singareni Collieries officers, urging the state govt to immediately release two years’ pending Performance Related Pay (PRP) dues and hold talks with the officers’ association to end the ongoing protest.Referring to the relay hunger strike and demonstrations by Singareni officers, Harish Rao said it was unprecedented that officials, and not just workers, had been forced to launch an agitation for their demands. He alleged that the Congress govt had failed to release PRP to officers for the past two years, unlike the previous BRS regime, which he claimed paid the incentive every year.The BRS leader alleged that withholding PRP had affected employee morale and contributed to a fall in coal production. He claimed declining coal output had, in turn, affected fuel supplies to thermal power stations, forcing Telangana discoms to procure electricity from power exchanges despite the ongoing monsoon season.Harish Rao also accused the govt of ignoring the concerns of nearly 2,500 officers participating in the agitation. He urged deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka, who also handles the energy portfolio, and the Singareni management to immediately invite the officers’ association for talks and resolve the issue by releasing the pending dues.He further demanded that Singareni implement the pay upgradation policy on the lines of Coal India without further delay, saying the PSU had traditionally followed Coal India guidelines on employee benefits.Alleging political interference in transfers and promotions, Harish Rao claimed the Congress govt had departed from the transparent counselling system followed during the BRS tenure. He said the practice of merit-based transfers had been replaced by political influence, forcing officials to seek recommendations for postings.
