No intention to privatise Singareni Collieries: PM Modi

Hyderabad, Nov 12 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday made it clear that the Centre has "no intention" to privatise Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).

Without naming Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), he said that some political forces were spreading rumours for their political interests.

The Prime Minister stated that there is neither a proposal under consideration for the privatisation nor the Centre has any intention to do it.

He was addressing a public meeting after inaugurating or laying the foundation stone of various projects at Ramagundam in Telangana's Peddapalli district, one of the districts which have mines of SCCL.

Prime Minister Modi said that the "lie of those spreading rumours has been caught as Telangana government holds 51 per cent in SCCL".

"The share of the government of India is 49 per cent and it can't take a decision on privatisation," he asserted.

He was apparently referring to a protest by TRS-backed employees' union at SCCL and the trade unions affiliated to the Left parties against the alleged move for privatisation.

He claimed that in the past, there were scams of several thousand crores in the coal sector but for the last eight years there has been transparency in auction of coal mines and the profit from this is reaching local people.

Prime Minister Modi also remarked that due to his visit to Telangana and the massive turnout at the public meeting, some people in Hyderabad were having sleepless nights.

The Prime Minister inaugurated fertilizer plant at Ramagundam and dedicated Bhadrachalam Road- Sattupalli rail line to the nation, which has been built at a cost of around Rs 1,000 crore. He also laid the foundation stone for Medak-Siddipet-Elkathurthy section of National Highway 765DG; Bodhan-Basar-Bhainsa section of NH-161BB; Sironcha to Mahadevpur Section of NH-353C.

The Prime Minister said these projects of over Rs 10,000 crore will benefit farming and business sectors. These projects will boost business, create new employment opportunities and increase ease of living.

He pointed out that in the past India was dependent on imports to meet its needs for fertilizers as urea factories in the country were shut due to outdated technologies.

Prime Minister Modi said that before 2014, imported urea used to get diverted to chemical factories and farmers used to stand in queues throughout the night for fertilizers. He claimed that this diversion was checked with 100 per cent Neem coating of urea.

He said five fertilizer plants were being reopened. A plant at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and the second at Ramagundam have re-opened and they will provide 60 lakh tonnes of urea, saving thousands of crores to the country.

The Prime Minister said farmers of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra will get benefit from the Ramagundam plant.

Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundrarajan and Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy were present.