Hyderabad, Sept. 30 (Maxim News) : Telangana Rakshana Sena chief Kalvakuntla Kavitha has said dependent jobs at Singareni Collieries are a right of workers’ families and not a government charity.
Kavitha alleged that the Congress government was trying to weaken the dependent appointment system at Singareni. She also accused the government of delaying medical boards for workers who applied for medical unfitness.
She said the Telangana Rakshana Sena and HMS had organised a “Singareni Bachao” programme over the issue. According to Kavitha, the government began conducting medical boards after she warned that she would launch a hunger strike if the process was not taken up.
Kavitha claimed that only around 12.5% of workers examined during the past two months were being declared medically unfit. She alleged that several workers with serious health problems were instead being declared fit for duty and sent back.
Kavitha Raises Questions Over Singareni Coal Quality
Kavitha also criticised Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s statements about the quality of coal produced by Singareni. She alleged that the government was wrongly claiming that Singareni could not supply G9-grade coal required by the Yadadri Thermal Power Station.
The Telangana government has said Yadadri requires G9-grade coal and that Singareni does not currently have coal blocks capable of producing the required grade. The government has therefore discussed procuring coal from Coal India and Mahanadi Coalfields.
Kavitha, however, claimed that Singareni produces coal ranging from G3 to G8 and also has G9-grade coal available at several mining and coal-handling facilities. She listed facilities in Ramagundam, Manuguru, Bhupalpally, Mandamarri and Srirampur, besides the Naini coal block in Odisha.
She further alleged that the state government was supplying G9 coal produced by Singareni to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu at higher prices while not supplying the same coal to power plants in Telangana.
Kavitha also claimed that the Telangana government owes Singareni ₹54,000 crore and alleged that efforts to procure coal from outside states could benefit private companies. These claims were part of her criticism of the state government and were not independently established in the material provided.
She accused some corporate organisations of working with the Congress government to weaken Singareni and permanent employment. Kavitha said the Telangana Rakshana Sena would explain the alleged moves to the public and oppose them.
Dependent employment at Singareni is governed by provisions of the National Coal Wage Agreement. The Telangana High Court has recently examined disputes involving medical categorisation and dependent employment under Clause 9.4.0.
Kavitha demanded that all Singareni workers who applied for medical unfitness be properly examined and that eligible workers’ dependents be considered for employment according to the applicable rules. She warned that failure to address the issue would lead to further protests. (Maxim News)
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