Hyderabad, alleging that state-run mining company Singareni Collieries in Telangana was "looted" and "destroyed" financially during the previous BRS regime, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Saturday demanded the current Congress government to conduct a probe into The issue.
Singareni is a coal mining company jointly owned by the Government of Telangana and the Government of India in the ratio 51:49.
It had bank deposits of Rs 3,500 crore when BRS came to power with the formation of Telangana in 2014, Coal and Mines Minister Reddy said at a press conference here.
But the company is now in debt due to the "arrogant, irregular and disorderly administration and excessive interference" of former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), he alleged.
Claiming that the Telangana government owes Rs 30,000 crore (dues) to Singareni, he said BRS should be blamed for this. Singareni staff unions make this clear.
He further alleged that BRS MLAs and other leaders "used" the transfer of land from Singareni and its dependencies "as per the orders of KCR's relatives".
Kishan Reddy asked why KCR did not discuss taking up production at Naini coal block in Odisha allotted to Singareni in 2015 with then Odisha Chief Minister Navin Patnaik.
Production at the Naini coal block has not started so far, he said.
"It was KCR, the KCR family, his party, his ministers, his MLAs who looted Singareni and caused economic destruction. I am asking the present (Telangana) government. Do they have any love for Singareni, Singareni workers and the development of Telangana, I am demanding a thorough investigation, a judicial inquiry into TRS's economic destruction or political interference or looting of Singareni for the last 10 years," he said.
Alleging that the ruling Congress in Telangana was also like the BRS, he said CM Revanth Reddy should order a thorough inquiry into "how much land was looted, where the CSR fund was used, how the looting was carried out, how Singareni tickets for luxurious things. if it is sincere.
If necessary, as a 49 per cent shareholder, he will write a letter on behalf of the Center to the state government on the issue, Kishan Reddy said.
Referring to BRS' allegation in the past that the NDA government at the Center would privatize the company, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a visit to Ramagundam in Singareni area, made it clear that the coal mining company of the government would not be privatized. .
He asserted that the NDA government would work for the welfare of Singareni workers.
The Center auctions coal mines transparently, in the spirit of the Supreme Court's decision that mines belong to the people and should not be allotted according to whims and fancies, he said.
He said around Rs 37,000 crore has been raised in the nine rounds of coal mine auctions held so far.
However, the Center does not receive any money when coal mines are auctioned and state governments receive royalties, he said.
Singareni would also benefit through open auction and not through nomination, he added.
Kishan Reddy's attack on BRS came in the backdrop of an ongoing war of words between the opposition party and the ruling Congress over the issue of allocation of coal blocks to Singareni.
"Congress and BJP are complicit when it comes to mortgaging Telangana's properties, rights and resources," BRS leader K T Rama Rao said in a post on X on Saturday.
CM Reddy had alleged that two Singareni coal blocks were "sold" to two private companies when Rama Rao's father Chandrasekhar Rao was the chief minister.
The Telangana government had urged Kishan Reddy that Singareni be allotted coal blocks in the Godavari catchment area within the reserve quota, without having to participate in the auction process.
Singareni is a coal mining company jointly owned by the Government of Telangana and the Government of India in the ratio 51:49.
It had bank deposits of Rs 3,500 crore when BRS came to power with the formation of Telangana in 2014, Coal and Mines Minister Reddy said at a press conference here.
But the company is now in debt due to the "arrogant, irregular and disorderly administration and excessive interference" of former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), he alleged.
Claiming that the Telangana government owes Rs 30,000 crore (dues) to Singareni, he said BRS should be blamed for this. Singareni staff unions make this clear.
He further alleged that BRS MLAs and other leaders "used" the transfer of land from Singareni and its dependencies "as per the orders of KCR's relatives".
Kishan Reddy asked why KCR did not discuss taking up production at Naini coal block in Odisha allotted to Singareni in 2015 with then Odisha Chief Minister Navin Patnaik.
Production at the Naini coal block has not started so far, he said.
"It was KCR, the KCR family, his party, his ministers, his MLAs who looted Singareni and caused economic destruction. I am asking the present (Telangana) government. Do they have any love for Singareni, Singareni workers and the development of Telangana, I am demanding a thorough investigation, a judicial inquiry into TRS's economic destruction or political interference or looting of Singareni for the last 10 years," he said.
Alleging that the ruling Congress in Telangana was also like the BRS, he said CM Revanth Reddy should order a thorough inquiry into "how much land was looted, where the CSR fund was used, how the looting was carried out, how Singareni tickets for luxurious things. if it is sincere.
If necessary, as a 49 per cent shareholder, he will write a letter on behalf of the Center to the state government on the issue, Kishan Reddy said.
Referring to BRS' allegation in the past that the NDA government at the Center would privatize the company, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a visit to Ramagundam in Singareni area, made it clear that the coal mining company of the government would not be privatized. .
He asserted that the NDA government would work for the welfare of Singareni workers.
The Center auctions coal mines transparently, in the spirit of the Supreme Court's decision that mines belong to the people and should not be allotted according to whims and fancies, he said.
He said around Rs 37,000 crore has been raised in the nine rounds of coal mine auctions held so far.
However, the Center does not receive any money when coal mines are auctioned and state governments receive royalties, he said.
Singareni would also benefit through open auction and not through nomination, he added.
Kishan Reddy's attack on BRS came in the backdrop of an ongoing war of words between the opposition party and the ruling Congress over the issue of allocation of coal blocks to Singareni.
"Congress and BJP are complicit when it comes to mortgaging Telangana's properties, rights and resources," BRS leader K T Rama Rao said in a post on X on Saturday.
CM Reddy had alleged that two Singareni coal blocks were "sold" to two private companies when Rama Rao's father Chandrasekhar Rao was the chief minister.
The Telangana government had urged Kishan Reddy that Singareni be allotted coal blocks in the Godavari catchment area within the reserve quota, without having to participate in the auction process.
