Hyderabad (Telangana), [India], June 21 (ANI): Union Minister for Coal and Mines, G Kishan Reddy, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to keeping the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) as a public sector undertaking (PSU).
In a statement addressing concerns about potential privatization, Reddy emphasized the government’s stance and reiterated that SCCL will not be privatized.
Reddy said, “We will take care of Singareni (Singareni Collieries Company) with full responsibility. I will do a special review on the subject of Singareni, will talk to all the officials. When the Prime Minister came to Telangana, he had said that Singareni is not going to be privatised, Singareni will remain as a PSU. We are not in favour of its privatisation, we want the Telangana government to also not be in favour of privatisation.”
This announcement comes amid broader efforts by the Ministry of Coal to boost coal production across the country.
According to a press release released by the Ministry of Coal on Friday, Reddy is set to launch the 10th round of commercial coal block auctions, as part of a major push to enhance coal production and meet the country’s growing energy demands.
According to a statement by the Union Ministry of Coal, 60 coal blocks will be offered in this round of auctions. This initiative aims to bring more coal blocks into production, thereby reducing India’s reliance on coal imports and ensuring energy security.
The 10th round of coal block allocation will include mines from several states including Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, and West Bengal. Notably, Odisha will see the largest offering with 16 mines up for auction.
Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh will each have 15 coal mines available for bidders.
The Coal India Limited (CIL) has already awarded 23 coal mines to private sector bidders under a revenue-sharing model.
These efforts are aimed at tapping into the latent coal reserves found in some of its previously closed and discontinued underground mines.
The move is part of a broader strategy to maximize the use of domestic coal resources and reduce the environmental and economic costs associated with coal imports.
So far, the Ministry of Coal has allocated or auctioned 161 coal mines with a peak rated capacity of 575 million tonnes (MT).
Out of these, 58 mines have received permission to begin operations, and 54 mines are currently operational. Last year, these mines produced a total of 147 MT of coal, contributing to 15 percent of the country’s total coal production. (ANI)
