The Centre’s decision to auction coal mines in Telangana has sparked political tensions in the state, leading to a war of words between the Congress and BRS. The BRS plans to discuss an action plan with leaders of the TBGKS after a meeting at Telangana Bhavan, while Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka intends to ask Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy to withdraw the auction decision.
At the auction launch in Hyderabad, Bhatti stated that the State government will request the allocation of the Sravanapalli coal block in Mancherial district to the SCCL without auction. He also mentioned that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will meet with the Prime Minister on this issue. Bhatti expressed concerns that without acquiring new coal mines, SCCL may become a thing of the past.
The NDA government’s amendment to the Mines and Minerals Act in 1957 allowed for the auctioning and leasing of coal mines to private firms. The SCCL board initially decided to participate in the auction but later backed out, resulting in two blocks being acquired by private firms that failed to start production within the allotted time.
Bhatti called on BJP ministers from Telangana, Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, to address the issue with the Centre. He plans to meet with Kishan Reddy and potentially lead an all-party delegation to meet the Prime Minister. The Congress leader criticized the BRS for both supporting and opposing the auction of mines, alleging that they favored their friends’ companies.
Kishan Reddy clarified that there is no plan to privatize Singareni and emphasized the importance of achieving self-reliance in the coal sector through auctions. He dismissed claims of privatization by the BRS, accusing them of playing on sympathy for political gain.
