Hyderabad: BRS leaders Balka Suman and former minister Koppula Eshwar alleged large-scale Singareni irregularities under the Congress government. They accused both the Congress and the BJP of weakening Singareni despite the Telangana government holding a 51% stake and the Centre owning the remaining 49%.
Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan, the leaders said the previous BRS government under K. Chandrashekhar Rao had strengthened Singareni. They credited the former government with introducing compassionate appointments and issuing land pattas to thousands of families under GO 76.
They also said KCR played a key role in setting up the Dharmal Power Plant. Meanwhile, Balka Suman said he had opposed the MMDR Bill related to coal mine auctions during his tenure as an MP. He added that the BRS staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha against the legislation.
Singareni irregularities allegations target Congress government
The leaders said former Rajya Sabha MP K. Keshava Rao had opposed the auction of Singareni coal blocks in Parliament. They also claimed that KCR had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the move. Further, they alleged that the Congress government had turned Singareni into a centre of corruption after coming to power.
Balka Suman alleged that irregularities had occurred in OB tenders through site visit certificates. He claimed the scam involved 42 lakh metric tonnes of coal and amounted to ₹1,600 crore. He further alleged that corruption worth ₹16,000 crore had taken place in Singareni during the Congress government’s two-and-a-half-year tenure.
The leaders also alleged irregularities in diesel procurement and criticised the cancellation of the Naini coal block tender. They claimed police stopped BRS leader Harish Rao from inspecting coal stocks.
Additionally, the BRS leaders questioned why the CBI had not investigated the allegations despite claims made by Harish Rao with supporting evidence. They also accused the Congress and BJP of working together on Singareni-related issues.
The leaders demanded that the government allot all opencast coal blocks to Singareni. Finally, they urged the Centre to allocate future coal blocks to the company through the nomination route instead of auctions.