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by IANS |
Hyderabad, Jan 20 (IANS) BRS leader T. Harish Rao has written to Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy, seeking a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in Singareni Collieries Company Limited, a public-sector undertaking.
Harish Rao sought urgent intervention of the Union Minister in what he called serious and continuing irregularities in Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), including arbitrary policy changes, cancellation of competitively awarded contracts from the previous BRS government period, and the disturbing silence of Central government-nominated Directors on the SCCL Board. He alleged that all of this together points to a possible larger nexus and ongoing financial loss to a vital public sector undertaking.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader wrote that after the change of the Telangana state government in 2024, SCCL introduced a so-called "Site Visit Certificate" system as a mandatory precondition for participation in tenders. This system has no precedent in the history of Singareni and is not followed by Coal India Limited or Western Coalfields Limited.
“Following the introduction of this procedure, several competitive tenders were cancelled, and contracts began to be awarded consistently at rates ranging from + 7 per cent to + 10 per cent, in stark contrast to national norms where OB coal block tenders generally conclude at -10 per cent to -22 per cent. Historically, even Singareni tenders were awarded at -7 per cent, -8 per cent. -10 per cent and sometimes even -20 per cent. What is particularly alarming is that several tenders finalised during the BRS regime through competitive bidding at -7 per cent to -10 per cent were cancelled without any reported technical failure or financial default and were subsequently re-tendered under the new system at significantly higher rates,” reads the letter.
The former minister stated that this systematic abolition of competitively awarded contracts and their re-allotment at inflated prices strongly suggests a deliberate reversal of competitive outcomes and has caused substantial financial loss to SCCL.
Harish Rao also wrote that Singareni's long-standing practice of bulk diesel procurement directly from IOCL was discontinued, and the responsibility of diesel supply was shifted to contractors. This policy change has increased project costs, imposed an avoidable GST burden, and directly harmed the financial interests of the PSU. Such a decision, taken without transparent justification, further strengthens apprehensions of commission-driven policy manipulation.
“Most disturbingly, Central government-nominated Directors on the SCCL Board, whose primary statutory responsibility is to safeguard public interest, ensure transparency, and prevent misuse of public funds, have remained conspicuously silent despite open deviation from established tendering norms, cancellation of earlier competitive contracts, award of inflated contracts under a non-standard procedure, and repeated complaints from contractors and stakeholders,” wrote the BRS leader.
Harish Rao stated that only a CBI investigation can impartially examine the legality and intent behind the introduction of the site visit certification system, the cancellation of BRS-era competitive tenders and their re-award at higher rates, the withdrawal of bulk diesel procurement, the possible collusion between political authorities, contractors, SCCL officials and Board members, and the role, knowledge, and accountability of Central government-nominated Directors.
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