Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha on Monday alleged that the controversy surrounding Singareni Collieries contracts is being deliberately diverted to protect large contractors, while workers’ interests and mounting losses of the public sector undertaking are being ignored.
Kavitha told reporters that the entire Naini coal block controversy was being shifted towards a “small contractor” to shield attempts to award contracts worth nearly Rs 25,000 crore to Megha Krishnareddy.
She questioned why the BRS leadership has remained silent on such large-scale allocations.
Clarifying the issue, she said Srujan Reddy, who is said to be brother-in-law of chief minister A Revanth Reddy, was awarded contracts worth around Rs 250 crore, all of which were granted during the BRS regime.
“Projecting him now as the main accused, while ignoring much larger contracts is misleading the public,” she remarked.
Kavitha accused both Congress and BRS of consistently neglecting workers’ concerns, stating that neither party raises its voice when labourers face hardship but acts swiftly when influential contractors are affected.
She rejected claims that no excess tenders were awarded during the BRS tenure, pointing out that several Singareni contracts were approved at high excess percentages.
She also criticised the extension of site-visit conditions to overburden (OB) works, alleging that the move was tailored to favour select companies.
Calling for the immediate scrapping of the MDO (Mine Developer and Operator) system, Kavitha said it has inflicted severe financial damage on Singareni.
She noted that the organisation’s debt rose from Rs 25,000 crore during the BRS regime to nearly Rs 50,000 crore now, forcing the company to borrow even to meet salary payments, while substantial dues from power utilities remain unpaid.
She demanded that all new coal blocks in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh be allotted exclusively to Singareni and that long-pending workers’ issues, including recruitment and bill clearances, be resolved without delay.
Kavitha also questioned the BRS leadership, including K T Rama Rao, for supporting journalists in one instance while allegedly tolerating attacks on a channel when similar reports were aired against him.
She further called for Singareni itself to undertake open-cast mining operations in Odisha, which would provide employment opportunities for Telangana workers.
Kavitha announced that Telangana Jagruti would send a delegation to visit the Naini coal block and reiterated that her organisation would continue to stand firmly with workers rather than contractors.
