SINGARENI MARCHING TOWARDS PROGRESS ......WELFARE OF SINGARENI WORKERS IMPORTANT : CM KCR STATEMENT IN ASSEMBLY

SINGARENI MARCHING TOWARDS PROGRESS

WELFARE OF SINGARENI WORKERS IMPORTANT

CM KCR STATEMENT IN ASSEMBLY

05-01-2017

Singareni is the pride of Telangana! It is a jewel in the crown of Telangana. The root and source of Singareni development is the labour of its workers.  Our government has fulfilled the long cherished dream of the Singareni workers. It filled unprecedented happiness among the family members of the work force. Considered as ‘Black Gold”, Coal reserves are in abundance in Komaram Bhim Asifabad, Mancherial, Pedapalli, Jayashankar Bhoopalpally, Bhadradri Kothagudem districts and in Godavari River basin in Khammam.  Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is producing Coal, the raw material for Power, Industries and making a major contribution to the financial robustness of the State besides proving thousands of jobs to the people.

Telangana has about 10, 528 Million Tonnes of Coal deposits in the region. Under Singareni about 1249 Million Tonnes of Coal is excavated. There are adequate Coal deposits to excavate them for the next century. Workers are excavating Coal from the depths of the earth. Their labour, sacrifice on the edge of death can only be compared to the great service and sacrifices being made by our brave Jawans on the Borders.  And the amount of commitment and awareness shown by these workers during the separate Telangana state is unforgettable. Hence our government has decided to give more benefits to the Singareni workforce. We acknowledge the contributions that the workers made for the overall development of Singareni over the years.

Dr William King of the Geological Survey of India was the first to discover Coal reserves in the Illendu areas way back in 1871. In 1886, Deccan Company from England took the mining rights.  In 1889, Coal mining took place at Singareni in Khammam district. Now we are calling every area where the Coal is available as Singareni. On December 23, 1920, under the then Nizam State, Singareni Collieries Company Limited was started. In 1945, the Nizam State took a major stake in the Company and became Managing Agent to run the affairs of the company. Since 1960, The Centre and the State government are running the company under the ratio 49: 51.

We should take pride in the fact that Singareni is the only company in Southern India, which is producing coal.  The Coal produced by the Singareni, besides Telangana State, is helping Thermal power plants in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states by supplying coal. About 600 lakh tonnes of coal is produced by the Singareni every year. Of this, 78.71 per cent is used for the generation of Thermal Power. The Singareni is also supplying coal to Sponge Iron, Cement, Fertilisers and Pharma companies.

As on date, Singareni has 46 mines, of which, 30 are underground and 16 are Open cast mines. In the Open Cast mines, Shovel Dumper, Drag lane, High wall methods are used to excavate the coal. In the underground mines, Long Wall, Continuous Miner, Blasting Gallery, SDL and LHD Methods are used. To get maximum production of coal, Singareni has Heavy Adriala Long Wall Project.

About 56,866 are working in the Singareni. Of this, 34,764 are working in the Underground mines and 10, 427 are working in the Open Cast mines. In 2015-16, about 600 lakh tonnes of coal is produced, 497 Lakh tonnes from the Open cast and 106 Lakh Tonnes from the Underground mines. This would mean, in Underground Mines where the work force is 61 per cent, production is 17 per cent, where as in the Open Cast mines where the work force is 18 per cent, the production is 82 per cent!

It would cost Rs 4118 per tonne to excavate coal from the underground mines and the selling price for the same is Rs 2360.  And the loss for the company is Rs 1758 per tonne. In the Open cast mines, the production cost is Rs 1204 and the selling price is Rs 2008 per tonne.  The profit is Rs 804 per tonne. In 2015-16, the company has incurred a loss of Rs 1869 Crore on Underground mines but registered a profit of Rs 3998 Crore through the Open Cast mines. Similarly, for the past six years, the company has lost Rs 8118 Core losses due to Underground mining while the profit is Rs 12469 Core through Open Cast mining. The company is adjusting the losses incurred with the Underground Mining with the profits it’s accrued through the Open Cast mining. It is proved beyond any doubt that the SCCL’s very existence is based on the Open Cast mining. Realising the futility of the Underground mining, several national and international companies including Coal India are implementing the Open Cast mining only. The State government is making a comprehensive plan for the protection of environment in the Open cast mining areas.

Though the Underground mining is causing losses, keeping view the survival of the workers, the state government is continuing the Underground mining. The government is also making efforts to reduce the losses in Underground mining. After the formation of Telangana government, multi-level meetings are held with the workers to explain all issues in detail. This has resulted in workers and officials to work with renewed enthusiasm.  Due to this, Singareni has produced 600 lakh tonnes of coal in 2015-16 and registered an impressive 15 per cent growth. It even surpassed Public Sector Undertaking like the Coal India and other Corporations.

It is to be noted that the Singareni has registered 15 per cent of growth after formation of the Telangana state. Between 2009 and 2014, the growth rate was a mere 3 per cent. Taking workers into confidence and the pro-worker policies of the government have given the good results. Singareni is on the profit-making spree.  From 2009 to 2014, Singareni has earned about Rs 400 Crore on an average per year. In 2015-16 along the Singareni has earned about Rs 1066 Crore. The State government has decided to give adequate share in the profits to the workers who have worked hard to get the company benefits. For the first time in the annals of the country and Singareni history, 23 percent of profits is given to the workers which at the tune of Rs 245 Crore. On an average, each worker got Rs 54,000 as Deepavali Bonus! This has cost to the company about Rs 303 Crore. Both Deepavali and Dussera bonus put together, each worker got about Rs one to Rs 1.25 Lakh as Bonus. This has caused lot of happiness among the families of the workers more than the festival happiness.

            In 1998, the state government had abolished the Dependent Job right, which was in the Singareni Collieries for a long period. For the next 18 years, the workers were demanding and agitating for the revival of the Dependent Job Right. But their genuine demand became a cry in the wilderness. But we have decided that it was justified to give jobs to those recommended by the workers keeping in view the years of service these workers had put in. During the general elections, we have promised that the dependent Job Right would be restored, once we come to power. Keeping our election promise, we have restored the Right. After a gap of two decades, Dependent Job process has begun in the Singareni. Applications in this category are accepted from January 1 onwards. With this, another generation from the workers is ready to participate in the Singareni activities. There is al all round happiness among the workers ‘families. The then government also imposed certain restrictions on the jobs given on compassionate grounds to the workers found unfit medically. But in the past Unfit Dependent Jobs were restricted to about 200 to 250 per year, where as, we have given about 3,200 jobs under this category since we came to power. The compensation of Rs 5 lakh per family incase, family members refused the job has been increased to Rs 12.5 Lakh by our government. Similarly, we have substantially increased the compensation of Rs Seven Lakh that was given to those who were killed due to accidents. We are now giving an exgratia of Rs 25 lakh, Rs 10 Lakh as the Company’s contribution, Rs 10 lakh as contribution from the worker’s side and ex gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh. In case a worker dies natural death while working, we have increased the compensation from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 15 Lakh. No other coal company in the country is giving such a huge compensation.

The state government is also taking all measures to improve the working conditions of the workers. Earlier, workers used to go into the mines wearing heavy-duty Cap lamps. We have spent lakhs of rupees and provided the workers with Cap lamps whose weight is about just 400 grams! Earlier, workers are made to walk for 2 to 5 kilometers in the mine, now we have introduced man riding system in the mines, which even Coal India does not have for all its mines. “Mee Kosam Mee Chentaku (For You, Close to You) Programme is being implemented in all the workers’ colonies to attend their problems and issues. Gyms, swimming pools, new roads, and drainage system are in place in all the colonies.

The state government is making plans for expanding and strengthening the Singareni. In the next five year, 20 more Opencast mines and 11 Underground mines will be executed. The production of target of the Singareni by 2020-2021 will be about 900 lakh tonnes per year. With this all the thermal power stations in the State as well as a several industries will get coal supply. About 11,621 more jobs will be created.

Singareni which is now excavating coal in the Telangana State is now expanding to other states.  The company has started operations in the Block allocated by the Centre at Naini Mines in Odisha state. The company also made attempts to expand its activities in other countries too. The Singareni officials have visited Australia, South Africa, Indonesia, China, Germany, France, UK and Canada to explore the possibilities. About 13 companies all over the World have expressed interest to work with the Singareni. However, due to fall in the prices of coal internationally, the matter is kept pending for the time being.

Singareni now also entered in to power production. A power plant with 1200 MW capacity near Jaipur has come up. Honorable Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi dedicated this plant to the nation on August 7, 2016. Efforts are on to establish another 800 MW plant by Singareni shortly. The power cost would come down as both coal and power is produced by Singareni. That is how it will be possible to supply at a lesser price power to Telangana DISCOMs. Thus through Singareni even the Telangana DISCOMs get benefited.

The state government has given a call that there should not be any division like workers and management and the entire work force in the Singareni should work as one family. Both the workers and management have positively responded to the call and are working day and night to keep Singareni on the path of progress. Officials and workers wear the same uniform to demonstrate this oneness. The pro active and positive decisions take by the government such a Special increment, paying wages for the strike period as part of the Sakala Janula Samme, huge share in the profits, Bonus, hike in ex gratia, restoring dependent Job Right and other actions by the newly formed Telangana government have instilled confidence among the workers. On this occasion I convey my New Year greetings to the workers and employees of the Singareni who are taking out the Black Gold to create prosperity for realising the dream of Bangaru Telangana.