Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday defended the government's decision to auction four coal blocks located near the Singareni Collieries Company Limited in Telangana, saying it is being done according to policy. SCCL is a government coal mining company jointly owned by the state government and the central government on a 51:49 equity basis.

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Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Congress member N Uttam Kumar Reddy said the people of Telangana are strongly objecting to the auction of the four coal blocks co-located with an existing public sector undertaking Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL). Reddy demanded that the government cancel the auction and allocate these four blocks to the company.

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"Now the auction regime has begun. Even for the allocation to states...notice of inviting application is done. Arbitrarily we are not doing it," Joshi said. Joshi also said the UPA regime policy of allocation route is not being followed. Calling the decision for auction irrational and objectionable, Reddy said this should be cancelled and the coal blocks allocated to SCCL.

The Congress MP claimed that 50,000 SCCL workers are on a strike right now causing a loss of Rs 120 crore a day. Reddy added that the company meets the coal requirements of thermal power stations of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The strike, the coal minister alleged, is unfortunately state-sponsored.

The statement made by the member is not fact, but it is far from the fact, Joshi said.

First Published:Dec 13, 2021 4:45 PM IST