Hyderabad, July 8 (IANS) Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Wednesday urged the Centre to allot all the coal blocks in Godavari basin in the state to public sector mining company Singareni.
He demanded that the BJP-led Central government prove its commitments to Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) by allocating all coal blocks in the Godavari Valley directly to Singareni instead of auctioning them.
Addressing a press conference, the Deputy Chief Minister requested the Central government to restore the status of Central Public Sector Undertaking on SCCL, which was scrapped after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government came to power.
“This is a government to government transaction as Singareni is a joint firm with 51:49 shareholding by the state and Central governments respectively,” he said requesting the Centre not to give step motherly treatment to the public sector coal major.
While thanking the Centre for giving mining licence of Tadicherla-II block to SCCL, the Deputy Chief Minister clarified that this was not a fresh allocation to SCCL, as claimed by Union Coal Minister G. Kishan Reddy, but a mining lease approval for a block that had already been allotted to the company in 2013.
He took objection to Kishan Reddy’s claims that Tadicherla-II block was allotted to SCCL bypassing the auction route as a long term measure to strengthen the company and safeguard employment.
Vikramarka said the block was assigned to SCCL way back in 2013 by the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
He alleged that the NDA government had delayed granting the mining lease for years despite repeated representations.
He claimed that repeated requests by the Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and himself finally bore fruit as the Centre had given the mining lease to SCCL.
The Deputy Chief Minister alleged that the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS)-led state government prevented SCCL from participating in coal block auctions which resulted in the company losing out Koyagudem and Sattupalli blocks.
On huge dues pending to SCCL, Vikramarka said the failure of the previous BRS government to clear the pending bills during its close to 10-year tenure resulted in the pendency and the Congress government was trying its best to clear the dues and revive the company.
Meanwhile, Peddapalli MP Gaddam Vamsi Krishna said that his continuous struggle in Parliament and with the Central government has resulted in the allocation of Tadicherla Coal Block-2 to SCCL.
The block, with estimated reserves of around 182 million tonnes, is expected to significantly boost coal production and generate substantial employment in the region.
Vamsi Krishna recalled that during the election campaign, he and Minister G. Vivek Venkataswamy had promised to protect Singareni’s interests.
“I have fulfilled that promise,” he said.
He noted that he had written to Coal Minister Kishan Reddy on February 3, 2026, requesting the allocation and had followed it up with multiple meetings.
He also raised the issue in Parliament on several occasions.
“This is not merely a coal block allocation… it is a victory for the struggle of Singareni workers and an acknowledgment of the aspirations of the people of Telangana,” the MP said.
He thanked Kishan Reddy for the positive decision and added that the allocation will strengthen Singareni, create thousands of direct and indirect jobs for the youth, and contribute to Telangana’s economic growth.
–IANS
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