Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy urged the Telangana Government to clear the pending dues of ₹55,000 crore owed to Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), saying the funds would help the public sector coal miner participate in the fresh auction of the Koyagudem Block-3 in Bhadradri Kothagudem district.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday, Mr. Kishan Reddy said the coal block was being reauctioned after the private company that had originally won it failed to commence production within the stipulated timeframe, leading to the cancellation of its allocation.
The Union Minister said efforts were underway to ensure that the block is awarded to SCCL, which, he noted, has the potential to extract around 120 million tonnes of Grade-13 coal available in the block. The mine had previously been auctioned twice, but the then BRS government allegedly prevented SCCL from participating, resulting in its allocation to a private company.
Mr. Kishan Reddy expressed concern over the financial health of SCCL, claiming that the company was facing a difficult situation and was relying on overdrafts to meet salary and wage commitments. The company, he said, must secure additional coal production blocks, reduce unnecessary expenditure and receive its pending dues from the State Government to improve its financial position.
“It is not appropriate for the State Government to withhold revenues generated from coal, which are the result of the hard work of thousands of SCCL employees and workers,” he said, urging the government to expedite payment of the outstanding dues.
The Minister also highlighted a series of recent initiatives taken by the Centre to strengthen SCCL’s operations and support Telangana’s energy requirements like finalisation of coal supplies from the Naini coal block in Odisha to the Yadadri Thermal Power Station, allocation of the Tadicherla-2 coal block and PKOC-2 opencast dip-side block to SCCL.
Published – August 25, 2026 06:56 pm IST
