Posted on: Post Date – 12:30 AM, Sun – 11/13/22
Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at the ground breaking ceremony of the Ramagondam development in Telangana state on Saturday. (Ani Photo)
Hyderabad: On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi indulged in clever language and technical games while saying there was no proposal to privatize Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).
It is true that there was no privatization proposal, but Modi did not mention that the Congress Center also acknowledged the attempt to auction SCCL’s coal blocks to private players. His claim that the state government owns 51% of SCCL and the central government alone cannot make any decisions about SCCL is also a bit misleading in this case.
To understand the technical language here, we have to remember what happened late last year when four coal blocks in Telangana – Kalyan Khani Block-6, Koyagudem Block-III, Sathupalli Block-III and Shravanapalli – were offered to Allocation An auction of coal under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957. The auction is also open to private participants.
The Center’s stance at the time, when Telangana objected and demanded that the block be reserved only for SCCL, that reserving the coal block for SCCL would “become a precedent for others” and there was no need for such a reservation, showed that the Center could actually override the state.
Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi, replying to N Uttam Kumar Reddy in Parliament in February, said the auction was part of the coal ministry’s decision to gradually move towards allocating coal blocks through auctions only. A PSU like SCCL can participate in auctions and get blocks, but not the blocks reserved for it.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao then called on the Prime Minister to immediately stop the auction of the four coal blocks belonging to SCCL, noting that SCCL needs these blocks as it plays a key role in meeting coal demand from Telangana Thermal Power Station, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Auctions and acquisition of coal blocks by private players will have an adverse impact on coal demand in the Singareni region, which in turn will affect SCCL’s prospects and cause significant losses in the long run.
Although the first round of auctions did not receive bids for Sattupalli Block-III, Shravanapalli and Kalyan Khani Block-6, they were auctioned again, again overturning the New York State and SCCL requirements.
That’s one aspect Modi chose to keep silent on Saturday. Instead, he chose to create concerns about privatization, and the weakening of SCCL if its blocks were auctioned off to private players, as mere “rumors” and went on to say that the coal mines were being auctioned in a fully transparent manner because Consider the increasing demand for coal in the country.
Anti-Modi protests continue
Earlier in the day, protests against Modi’s visit continued across the state. Leaders and activists of left-wing political parties have been arrested by police after protests against discrimination against Telangana in centres such as Hyderabad and Pedapali.
Leftist parties and the union of SCCL’s employees in Peddapalli have also organized protests against the centre’s move to privatize coal blocks. Posters, banners and flexis also appeared in Hyderabad and Ramagondam, questioning Modi’s commitment to Telangana at the time of the fork.
Protests were also held in Mandamarri, Godavarikhani, Kothagudem and others. Leftist demonstrations were also held at all constituency headquarters in the former Kaman region.
